Dieu de La Mort: From Seireitei with Love
by NiuNiu
Summary: When a mysterious man crashes in her apartment Inoue learns that not all the delusions are imagination, but some of them are real. So real you could fell in love with them... RenjixInoue.
1. Just crash in OK

**NiuNiu Note**

Yay! A brand new RenjixInoue fic!

…No wait, it's not. This is the fic I started, then deleted and now it has re-incarnated. I wasn't satisfied with this fic when I published it for the first time and some of you might remember I apologised about it in my page here in . Still, the idea of this fic haunted me like… a year? I mean really, really _haunted_. I had to give it another change. It apparently wants to be written and the story wants to be told.

For those who already managed to read the first chapters of this fic fear not: I have made changes in it. I wish you also would give this fic another change. I can't keep my hands away from RenjixInoue. I have missed the time I was writing _**Tranquillité – Leaning On You**_…

Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback you left for my previous RenjixInoue fics! It really and sincerely meant me a lot while I was writing the fics and I still hold every comment dear.

Again I apologize if you find typos and silly mistakes because me being non-native English speaker. They usually hide from me quite well!

Enjoy!

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"Are you still having the seizures?"

"….Yes… sometimes…"

"When was the last time you had it?"

"Yesterday, before I went to sleep".

"How bad?"

"…Not as bad as the usual ones, but still frightening."

"How long did it last?"

"…I…. I'd say around 30 minutes. I didn't check the time…"

_Inoue Orihime. Age 16. __Has been having the seizures now for two and a half years. During the seizures can't tell the difference between reality and delusion. Sometimes seizures include aspects that scare the client. Is having her second year in a high school. Brother passed away, parents living in Okinawa. _

Inoue remembered her medical report well. Way too well. She had heard it more than a few times when running from a doctor to another with her "disease". It had started suddenly, with no warnings whatsoever. Just like someone would have pressed a button in her core, a button that should have been left untouched. She still remembered her first seizure. It had happened near the football field, when she had hurried to meet Tatsuki – her best friend, who just loved football (she was actually really good player, at least from Inoue's opinion!). She…. didn't want to think about that scene again. She was still seeing nightmares of it…

The doctors… Inoue wasn't sure should she believe them or not. Sometimes they eyed her oddly when they read her papers, sometimes they were talking with their collages with a low, mumbling noise and eyed her. Like… she would have had a plague or something. But no. It wasn't plague she was carrying in her body. It was something that no eye could see. Something she wasn't sure should it even be called as a disease (since for her disease was a physical condition). They said she had tendency to psychosis. She had never heard that word before she learnt about her illness. It sounded scary, sounded like it was an alien from outer space that had arrived to haunt and bully her. Like she… she would have turned into another person. Inoue really didn't know what was going on. Only the fact that something was wrong with her, as the doctors said. Biting her lower lip Inoue wondered would she ever find out what exactly was wrong with her. What was causing her to have the tendency to psychosis…

"I see. Did anything special happen that could have triggered the seizure?"

Inoue looked at the old, grey haired man in a grey, well tailored suit before her. He was holding her files in his lap, tapping the pen on the surface of his memo book without noticing it. His eyes stared her back from above the edge of his frameless glasses.

"I don't think so. At least I don't remember that anything special would have occurred before it…" Inoue spoke quietly, fumbling her fingers.

The psychiatrist stopped the pen tapping and scribbled something down to his papers.

"This is the sixth seizure in this month. I suggest we change your medication to a different one. The one you're using now seems to be loosing its effect and we don't want that, do we?"

Nodding she approved his words, thinking that if the doctor said so, it must be best for her. She didn't like medication. The meds made her feel tired and took her appetite away. Besides, every time they changed her medication the new pills made her feel nauseous for weeks. In her mind Inoue saw herself bringing another note from doctor to the head master of the high school. The headmaster probably though she was a freak, but Inoue was happy they still allowed her to go to normal school. Mentally sighing she noted herself that the new medication meant she would need to work extra hard at school to keep up with the pace of other students. Silently she was happy she hadn't had a seizure at the school in a long time. Public seizures, when being the worst ones, made her feel deeply embarrassed.

"Here's the new prescription. I call to the pharmacy and tell them you will pick these up today", the old man said offering the prescription for Inoue, who took it, eyeing it worryingly.

"Is the medication expensive…?" she asked shyly and her doctor looked her again from above his glasses' edge.

"Few thousand yens more expensive but don't worry. Since I think it's urgent for you to start to use the new medication as soon as possible so that we can stop those seizures, I tell the pharmacy to give you a few days time to pay the bill. I can't expect a student to have suddenly this amount of money for a use".

"Thank you", Inoue replied. She knew she would need to gather money for the medication and she wondered would Tatsuki be up to arrange a street flea market with her. She could sell some of her comic books and DVDs. She didn't want to use all her savings for the medication, since they had planned to go to a trip with Tatsuki at summer. Maybe to Okinawa to meet her parents. They loved Tatsuki.

They changed a few more words with each others, until Inoue left, bowing good byes to the psychiatric and heading downstairs to the front door. She looked at the prescription, not being able to make anything out what the medication was called. Hastily she headed for the pharmacy. She didn't need to wait for her turn for long in the pharmacy and she was glad the dispenser was nice and understood her situation with the money. During her way to home Inoue decided to dare her illness and stop quickly by the waffle shop and buy something sweet to eat for the rest of the way.

Munching her vanilla ice-cream filled waffle with wasabi topping Inoue thought about herself. She had started to see things that weren't real for others about two years ago. Like said no one knew what had caused it, they just knew what she also did – that she saw monsters, huge and small ones, screaming and roaring and wandering around the streets of Karakura, even though she shouldn't have. Sometimes they even followed her and she needed to ran back home, shut her curtains and sit in the dark corner hugging her pillow and praying that those creatures would disappear. Sometimes she saw – instead of monsters - persons, humans no other saw. She didn't know when the unfamiliar person she was talking to was real and when delusion so she avoided talking with foreigners. She was rather lonely because of it.

Reaching for her handbag for keys Inoue stood before her home's door, hoping this new medication would end these delusions and hallucinations. She had lost the count of just how many different medications she had tried to get rid off the things she didn't want to see or hear. Closing the door behind her Inoue put her faith in these new pills. She wondered what colour they were. They always had so odd colours… She disposed the leftovers of the waffle hungrily and thought to skip the evening meal and just swallow her medication. She rustled the cardboard box open, reading the warning of multiple side effects that may occur from the usage of the medication until Inoue took two pills from the plastic bottle. She hoped not to get any of the side effects, since she knew the medication would make her feel nauseous already. Bravely she swallowed them both and went lazily to watch TV. She wished Tatsuki would have been around, but she was in karate tournament in Korea. Inoue hoped Tatsuki would bring her some cute souvenir, like she had promised to. Last time she had brought Inoue a small omamori-amulet from Kobe. It was supposed to protect her from bad spirits.

Surfing through TV channels Inoue ended up watching cartoons. They always soothed her mind, even though the little inner voice tried to tell her she was too old for that stuff. She didn't want to believe it. She loved cartoons. Sighing Inoue wished she could go to movies to see cartoons, but lately she had been too afraid to move outside more than necessary. The hallucinations didn't warn of their coming, they just popped out and when it happened, it was all too real. Too scary. Hastily she picked up the decoration pillow and curled to sit on the floor hugging it tightly. She really hoped the new medicines would help her and that she could sleep in peace…..

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Thanks for walking me home, Tatsuki!"

"No problem at all!" Tatsuki smiled back to Inoue, holding her training bag in her lap while they walked closer to Inoue's apartment.

"Too bad you can't stay for a tea… I would have liked it", Inoue sighed. Tatsuki chew her lower lip.

"Unless like everyone else, I don't have a free day at Sunday. I need to train more. I got second place in the Korean tournament and it bugs me. Gah! I trained so hard and still, the second place!" she fumed brows knitted together, squeezing the training bag.

"But the second place is good, really good!" Inoue assured her, waving her palm in the air trying to calm Tatsuki down. "I would be really happy if I was even second best in something".

"Inoue, you just got the best grades in the biology exam this week! It was really hard exam, you know. You should be really proud of it!"

"..I wonder if teacher gave me such good points because he pitied me…" Inoue murmured sadly, focusing to stare at her feet. Her bangs cast a shadow over her worrisome eyes. "The doctor gave me stronger medication last week. My disease is getting worse, Tatsuki-chan…"

Tatsuki's eyebrows frowned again, drawing a deep line onto her forehead. She looked concerned.

"Does the new medication work?" she asked with a low tone of voice. Inoue knew that tone. She put up a brighter face for Tatsuki.

"Uh-uh. I haven't seen or heard anything odd. I think they're good for me. Besides, they didn't make me feel sick either, like the previous pills". She took a few dancing steps to prove Tatsuki shouldn't be so worried. At least not for now.

"Then I'd say your symptoms haven't gotten worse, the doctors have just been ordering wrong medication for you earlier", Tatsuki smirked elbowing Inoue, who laughed at her. Inoue trusted her words. Who girl wouldn't trust her best friend?

They reached Inoue's home, changing a few last words and wishing good weekend for each others until Tatsuki jogged away. Inoue was a bit disappointed Tatsuki hadn't had time to come inside, but she reasoned they could have tea on the next weekend. Besides, just month and a half and then the summer break would begin. Then they finally could leave for a trip with Tatsuki and since the medication seemed to work so well, she could relax on her holiday, too.

Inoue spent the rest of her day cooking and taking a long bath with her favourite book, devouring the love story page by page. She needed to leave her bath when the water had cooled down to be cold and after drying herself Inoue headed to the bedroom with the book. She never tore her eyes away from it when she changed her night garment on and shuffled under her duvet. She loved romantic stories. They helped her to forget everything bad.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She woke up in the middle of the night. The romantic novel she had started to read earlier rested on her lap and narrowing her sleepy eyes Inoue took a look at her cell phone's clock. It stated it was soon 1 am. Getting up lazily she headed for a toilet, murmuring herself she should at least wash her teeth before hitting the bed intentionally. She hoped to be able to fall back to sleep again.

When she reached her living room to switch the lights on something in the distance caught her eye. Something slowly moving and blurry… Wondering what it was Inoue walked before the window and a horrified gasp escaped from her. There it was! Again! The same hallucination she had seen so many times! A monstrous creature, size of a skyscraper, walking in the city! Its roar echoed all the way to Inoue's ears and in a shock she rushed away from the window, hiding herself to the furthest corner of the room.

"This can't be happening…!" she wept, shutting her ears with her palms and pressing her head tightly against the uplifted knees. "I'm dreaming, this must be a dream…! I… Dear god please, don't let this be a seizure, I just got the new medication!" she sniffed loudly and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I want to go to a trip with Tatsuki….!"

Her praying got cut down by a horribly loud noise, sound of glass shattering into million pieces, followed by enormous ruckus. Inoue shrieked, covering her head and hearing again how her hallucination roared, this time closer. Her curled body shivered and she cried. Cried that her hallucination was getting worse and worse. Now she also heard how the glass had shattered with a loud extra sound, like something heavy would have crashed inside from the window. God, she was even able to feel the cool night air brushing over her naked upper arms and bare feet!

She waited. Waited for the seizure to go over, waited for the better, rocking her body back and forth and prayed. She was afraid the monster had come in and would eat her. She would be just a little snack for it. She was afraid that the delusion would be so real it could harm her for good.

After a moment had passed the feeling in the room calmed down. She didn't hear anymore noises coming from the outside. Inoue gathered all her weakened energy up to her ears to hear if anything suspicious might be lurking nearby, but she heard nothing alarming. Just the usual sounds of the city. Slowly she let her body relax and took a look to the direction of the window. Her face paled. The slight, white curtains were waving before the broken screen in the wind. Shakily Inoue stood up to her wobbling feet. Oh dear lord, the seizure was still going on...! There was no way anything would have come inside, she must have been imagining the movement of the curtains and the feeling of the breeze. Maybe this was the side effect of the new medication…?

Silently like a cat Inoue made her way to the window, noticing how the fragments of window screen had been spread all over the floor and carpet. The little plant table before the window had fell over and all the flowers where on the floor, dirt and pieces of pots and leaves, just like someone would have hit it. She stopped. For a second she was unsure should she move and take a look further in or not, but then she gathered her will power. She felt her body trembling like a leaf in a Autumn storm. Her slim knees were practically hitting together by the fear and her mouth felt like she would have ate a super-spiky cactus. Slowly, after encouraging herself, Inoue slit her feet forward being careful not to split her soles with the shards and took a peek from the sofa's side. She prayed, prayed bad. The living room table had also fallen over and when her eyes moved further from it, she shrieked.

On the floor, in her living room's floor, surrounded by the sharp glass shards, lied a bloody faced man in black.

She rushed to his side managing to avoid getting glass in her bare feet. The man was breathing – thank god - and when Inoue placed her hands on him he felt real. Like flesh and blood.

"Sir? Sir! Are you alright? Answer me, sir!" Inoue demanded shaking the man from his shoulders. He didn't answer. She stood up hastily and ran to light up the ceiling lamp to see if the man was injured. She returned to him quickly, not thinking anything else but the man's well-being. The unknown and uninvited man was lying on his right side and carefully Inoue turned him to lie on his back.

"Are you hurt, sir?"

Still no answer. Inoue figured the man was unconscious. She inspected him closer and noticed he wore an old styled Japanese outfit, with hakamas and all. His red hair was tied up high, forehead covered with a white band and his sharp eyebrows were decorated with tattoos. His breathing was steady but weak and by touching his neck Inoue was able to find a pulse from him.

Her bare knees felt wet and she cast her look down, noticing a pool of red. Her hands started to tremble. Blood! This man, he was hurt! Badly! She tore his upper garment open, revealing more odd shaped tattoos decorating his body alongside with wounds. His lower lip and nose were bruised, too. She wouldn't wonder if the man had broken bones or fatal inner injuries.

Inoue had no idea how and why the man had ended up into her apartment, but she knew he needed help. Like a tornado Inoue hurried to bathroom, bringing back her medical aid kit. Before she was able to put it down, her door bell rang. Pondering should she open it or not the door bell rang again, sounding more demanding this time. Unwillingly she made her way to the door. Behind it stood a young man, the one who lived next doors to her.

"Inoue-san, are you alright? I heard really loud noise and got worried", he asked, eyes concerned. Then he spotted the medical bag. "Why you have medical kit? Are… are you hurt, Inoue-san? Did something bad happen?"

"Oh Kawa-san, you need to help me!" Inoue begged, eyes filling with big tears. "There's a man inside, he's bleeding badly! He's hurt and it looks so serious!"

Kawa's eyes widened and stoned. Soon he composed himself and rushed after Inoue, who guided him further in to the living room, pointing the spot where the red-haired man was still lying. "There's so much blood, Kawa-san! We need to call an ambulance! I don't want anyone to die in my apartment!"

The young man didn't budge. He just stood on the same spot where he had stopped, staring at Inoue.

"Inoue-san, is everything okay? The window is broken and… there's this mess in here", he asked slowly, looking like he thought his words carefully. Inoue turned her weeping face to Kawa's side, still pointing the unconscious man on the floor. Her other hand squeezed the medical kit tightly against her bosom.

"What are you talking about?" he cried sorrowfully. "Won't you help him? Can't you see he's bleeding badly?"

"Inoue-san…" Kawa spoke gently, stepping closer to Inoue. "There's no one there, Inoue-san. Just pieces and fragments of the window screen". He gave her a saddened, pitying smile.

Inoue's jaw dropped and her lips quivered. Her pointing arm started to shook.

"Wh… what?" she hissed the question, barely managing to say it out lout. Kawa smiled at her warmly.

"Are you alright, Inoue-san? It's okay if you feel odd. I would have got scared too if my window broke like that just suddenly during the night, even though I'm a man".

"But… but…." Inoue stammered shaking. Her throat dried up again. "There's blood. Blood on the floor. Look! There's blood even on my knees! I got it when I checked out if he was alive…!" Inoue lifted up her left knee and patted it with her palm, but all she got from Kawa was a shook of a head.

"I'm sure you must have been seeing a dream. I assume you were sleeping when this happened and you got scared and thought someone had barked into your home. Believe me, Inoue-san. I'm not telling stories. There's no one in that spot you're pointing at. You can relax".

Relax? Relax? No way she could relax! She saw the foreign man, his blood seeping into her carpet, his eyes closed and lips parted as he breathed weakly. Inoue's body trembled and Kawa cast a worrisome look at her.

"I can stay here if you want, Inoue-san. To make sure everything is okay".

"No!" She barked, but regained some sense soon. "No, you don't need to", Inoue tottered, shaking her head furiously. "I.. I just got scared. You're right. Just scared. Thank you. Sorry to bother your sleep. I…. I don't know what broke the window… Maybe it was an earthquake… or a big bird of some sort…"

"I can call to someone to come to look at that at morning", Kawa offered and hastily Inoue nodded, still squeezing the bag against her chest. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She nodded again to his cocked eyebrows and told once again the same story of getting scared. She wished Kawa to leave her alone and being polite, the young man followed her wish. Before leaving he reminded Inoue she could contact him at any time, if she felt need to it.

She nodded him again, in a hurry to get him out from her home. When the front door before Inoue's nose shut, she rushed back to the living room just to witness the same scene – the bloody man on her floor. She dropped onto her knees beside him and started to unzip the kit, sobbing.

"I'm crazy", she cried "I'm helping my delusion. You're not real and still I feel and urge to help you. What's wrong with me?" she hiccupped, summoning strength to move the man to sit against the nearest wall. After a struggle Inoue managed to lift the man up to a sitting position and tore his shirt away. She adjusted his position as much as she was able do with her strength and started to tie his wound on his back with shaky fingers.

"You're not real… You're not real…" she cried and cried while helping the man that was supposed to be just her imagination. "You're one of them. Those that only I can see, the things I make up in my mind." She did her best to deny her illusion, even though the person in her hold felt warm. She heard the every ragging and rasping breath he took, felt the sticky blood, touched his skin. His head was lulling forward, forehead almost touching her bare, skinny shoulder. The blood from his nose and mouth ran down onto Inoue's skin, travelling slowly down on her back side. She felt it. It felt real. The blood even smelled like real. She wanted to puke.

Finally after struggling with herself Inoue finished wrapping the bandage and placed the man lie against the wall slowly. The she dropped down to sit on the floor before him, to take a good look. He looked so real, way too real. Way too scary. What if he was a bad delusion – like a demon – and here she was helping him. Why? Why? She wanted to shook the man up and yell him why he was doing this to her. Why he was ruining her life? Why any of the delusions her saw were visible only for her? Why? He and all the things she saw just made her life worse.

Inoue couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't understand this madness. Howling Inoue buried her face into her blood stained palms, exhausted. Cried like when she had heard about her illness. Cried like when she had broken her all toes from the right leg when she was five years old. She cried, cried like when her brother had died. After his dead Inoue had felt her life was ruined, forever, for good. This, this nonsense, this horrible seizure, felt the same. With a strangled cry Inoue curled her body into a small bundle.

The new medication didn't help her after all…

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	2. Zabimaru's advice

**NiuNiu Note:**

I'm curious to see where this story goes to! I hope you to be as exited as I am!

Just so you know, the M-rating is there for reason. Since this is romance fic there will be erotic scenes involved in it. When, I can't say, but for sure there is. That shouldn't be any surprise for those who read Tranquillité-fic.

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_He smelled like blood. Lo__oked beaten up and fragmented in her eyes. Composing herself she wiped his messed face with a wet cloth, hoping not to hurt him. She wondered if he had broken his nose. It looked so bad… Could hallucinations have a broken nose?_

_His head fell to his left side as soon as she let go of it. She tried to place it better__ against the wall, to make him feel more comfortable. Could hallucinations feel themselves uncomfortable? _

_His eyes staid close and for a check she __lifted his eyelid up, just like she had seen done in the hospital series in TV. His tiny pupil, framed by reddish brown iris, reacted to the light. Could fake eyes react to the light?_

_She wanted to call to a hospital, since she knew this man was in a very bad shape, but then on the other hand she knew there was no hospital that could treat made-up things. She wondered would he disappear if she fed him one of her pills. Weren't the hallucinations supposed to leave with a medication?_

_She called him again__, shaking his shoulder, trying to wake him up. If he woke up then he could also leave from here and let her be alone. Wasn't she supposed to be here alone in the first place?_

_Adding the final blaster she had in her medical kit above the wound he had on his right palm__ her energy gave up. She had managed to compose herself up from the floor after she had cried, curled up trying to protect herself from this. In the end she truly had wanted to help him – she didn't want anyone to die on her, whether it was a delusion or not that required her help. She remembered some of those person delusions she had seen before and how a few of them had been so sad. She felt bad for not having helped them then, even though Inoue had no idea how she could have been any help for them…_

_Slumbering back on the floor on her bottom she felt dizzy. Extremely exhausted and dizzy. In the way of drifting into the darkness her blurry vision captured a sight of the man before her, turning and lifting his head, taking a look at her with his narrow, pensive eyes. Then it all went black and silent. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The sound of playing children under her window woke Inoue up. She blinked, being covered with her duvet on her own bed. Lazily she rubbed her eyes and yawned. The sun was already high up and peeked from the gab between the curtains. Luckily it was Sunday, an official lazy ass day.

She rose up to sit and saw the romantic novel lying on the other side of the wide bed. Inoue sighed. She had had most bizarre dream last night of her hallucinations. She was so happy it was only a dream and rising up from the bed she thought of reading the warning of side effects again to make sure did the medical usage cause nightmares for some users. If so, Inoue wished this was the first and the last time it happened. Though it was a lot better side effect than vomiting, that was sure! Besides, she had already enough problems with her daytime delusions. She didn't need to have night time delusions, too. Or dream world delusions to be precise, but since it was Sunday Inoue didn't want to be so precise.

Walking straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth – it was her morning habit – she remembered the man in her nightmare. He had been hurt, wearing old clothes and his hair had been bright red. She had never seen him before, but she caught herself worrying what had happened to the man in her dream. Inoue didn't remember seeing the rest of the nightmare. She kind of hoped she had. It was annoying when you didn't know how your dreams ended, though usually Inoue was happy if she woke before the end of a nightmare. Now, she was just worried and anxious.

The man didn't leave from her mind during the teeth brushing or at the breakfast. She ate her toast and drank tea in a deep silence, watching the morning cartoons but paying no attention to them. The red haired man and his fate just bugged her. She wanted to call Tatsuki to tell her dream for her, but then she remembered it was Sunday, the day when Tatsuki usually had her karate trainings. Perhaps she should give her a call at the evening if the dream still whirled in her mind. On the other hand she could talk about the nightmare to Tatsuki at school tomorrow, or save the story for the trip. It would most likely be fun to tell the story to Tatsuki at late night when everything was dark and they had just hit the bed. Maybe, maybe just once, Inoue could scare Tatsuki. The dark haired tomboy was made of steel and she never was afraid of anything. Inoue, on the other hand, worried sometimes too much. She wondered was she a nasty friend of wishing to see Tatsuki at least a bit scared after her attempts of telling horror stories at least once. Usually it was Inoue herself who ended up being afraid after her own stories!

Closing her eyes Inoue couldn't help the feeling in her chest just how realistic the nightmare had been. She remembered that Kawa-san had came to see her and told there was no man on the floor, even though for her he had been as visible and real as Kawa himself. She cast her grey, still a bit tired looking eyes towards the spot in the living room where the man had lied against the wall and a small smile painted her lips. There was no trace of him. No blood, no shards of glass. The window screen was intact and the flowers stood on their table before it, all nice and fresh.

Her door bell rang and she took a look at her clock. Soon 11 am. She stood up smiling - maybe it was Tatsuki who had came to visit her before trainings. However, the shut door didn't reveal Tatsuki from the other side of it, but a man in a working outfit – loose pants, dark shirt and tabi shoes.

"Inoue Orihime-san? I got a call you had a broken window here".

"Wh…What?" she tottered, holding the door open. The repairer man looked boggled.

"Uhh… A broken window? Didn't your boyfriend call me this morning? Something about the last night…?"

She forced a sweet smile on her face and eyes, shaking her head slightly.

"I don't have a boyfriend. Or broken windows", Inoue added before the man managed to open his mouth for more questions.

"Oh I'm sorry then. This must be a wrong address then…" the man mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, have a nice day! Sorry to bother your Sunday like this. I thought it was urgent", he smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed of his mistake. Inoue shook her head, saying it was all right. She apologised that the man had needed to come to work and Sunday and wished the man to have a great day despite this all.

When he had left Inoue closed to door and pressed her back against its cold surface. Her eyes were sizes of two plates and her heart beat like a huge drum. Broken window? Why did he come here to ask about broken window? In her dream, the window _had_ been broken and Kawa-san _had_ told about calling someone to fix it, but….

It was just a dream. An odd nightmare she had had. The man behind her door had to be just coincidence, looking for other address than hers.

There was just no way her window would have fixed itself during the night or that the injured man would have just left in silence and manage to clean up his bloody mess from her living room. She was pretty sure blood pools like that left a horrible, permanent stain on the carpet if it happened for real and her carpet was as clean as new.

Suddenly, she was worried. What if the man behind her door had been another of the hallucinations? How she could be sure of that? Maybe she had been just talking to herself, holding the door open. Thank god no one had seen that! She was already nuts, she didn't need more prove of it in the form of neighbours talking of her… And hey, if the windows got broken, there usually were shards around, right? Her apartment was clean and safe to walk even with bare feet.

Sighing confused Inoue headed for the kitchen area, located in same room with the living room. Another cup of tea would ease her mind and besides, she should take her morning medication soon. In the middle of the way something stung her toe and she winced with a yelp, jumping to sit on the armrest of the sofa with one foot. Inspecting her hurt big toe Inoue noticed she had got something in it.

A small fragment of a window screen glass pointed out from her flesh.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_At first he head thought Rukia had came to him, then after feeling someone seemingly treating his wounds that Rukia had asked backups to patch him up, but when he had found enough strength to stir his eyes open he had saw an unfamiliar young woman. Human for sure – no one i__n Seireitei looked like her or dressed up the way she did. It was actually a bit shame, since Renji had formed a liking to human clothing. Their styles changed from year to year and females wore short skirts and dresses during summer…_

_He remembered noticing how his blood had stained now the unconscious girl's hands, arms and legs with red and moving an inch with a pained grunt Renji got aware of his bandages. There were long, white bandages wrapped around him, mostly around his mid-section and small, animal decorated blasters glued here and there on his skin. __Letting his head rest against the wall he had just stared the girl calmly, sweat decorating his face and breathe sounding shallow. She looked so young. Not older than 17 perhaps. About the same age as his old friend Hinamori would be, if she lived in human world. What had amazed him the most was the fact that the girl saw him. Saw and was able to nurture him. Renji had never met anyone in a human world who was able to spot them, though he had been warned that people like that did exist. It was part of their training to know it. He had found himself sitting there just wondering what to think about this girl. Guess it might have been really hard for her since Renji supposed she also saw the Hollows. And besides, not everyone dead soul wandering around here was a friendly one._

…

… …

…

_He heard how the fragments on the floor shattered even tinier and tiredly he looked up. Rukia had hurried after him and was kneeling down next to him._

"_Are you alright, Renji?" she asked, eyes stony with worry. Her palm squeezed Renji's wide slumbered shoulder. _

"_Fine", he replied groggily and coughed, making the blood from his bruised lip spray down to his chin with the force of the cough. "Help me stand up, I think that damn bastard broke my leg"._

_Rukia turned like by hit with a lightning to Inoue's side, looking at her sternly._

"_That human?" she hissed venomously taking a grip of the hilt of her sword, but Renji's hand placed over hers, soothing._

"_No, THAT bastard. Did you get it?"_

_She relaxed letting go of her katana and shifted to Renji. _

"_Yeah. I blasted it with kidou and it worked. Good for me you managed to hurt it badly until it got you". She summoned her powers up and helped Renji to stand on his one wobbly leg. He grunted with a hiss because the pain and hold his stomach, looking miserable._

"_Does it hurt?" Rukia__ questioned him quietly, eyeing the taller man who took support from her slim body. _

"_Yeah. I got fucked up quite well", he chuckled, thin lips stretching to a grin. "Thanks to that girl you didn't find me unconscious drowning in my own blood. I can stand and walk."_

_Rukia take a quick look at the girl lying on floor. Her eyebrow's knitted together in a disliked expression._

"_You know we're not supposed to be spotted. Humans like that cause us an extra trouble", she stated, mostly for the unfamiliar girl than to Renji. He knew it from her tone. Silently he decided not to cross words with Rukia in this matter. They both were stubborn ones, but right now Renji felt himself too weak for arguing. Besides, he had meant what he had said to Rukia about his state and injuries. It was all thanks to that girl that he was now standing. Suddenly his eyes widened in a shock._

"_Zabimaru!" he yelled with horrified look in his sienna eyes. "Where's my sword?"_

"_You lost your sword?" Rukia repeated his realisation looking her friend with disbelieve. Then__ her eyes narrowed and the usual look returned to her face._

"_Don't worry. I'll go look for it. We need to get you to Captain Unohana at first. I'll return here to take care of this mess and bring you your Zabimaru back". _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Renji stroked the sleek surface of Zabimaru with his fingertips thinking the event of that night. The hollow had got him off guards and send him flying with one single blow of cero. He had managed to avoid the full contact of the attack, but still it had been enough to crash in inside of the human's house. They were forbidden to cause any damage to humans or their homes, since the more damage meant more cleaning up for them after the battle. Things were supposed to be handled nice and clean, with low profile. He had failed in it. Rukia had gave him silence lecture with her eyes when had woke up at Unohana's medical quarters and Renji knew she did it since she had been worried. After all, they had stuck together since the childhood. They weren't kids anymore – those days were long gone, thank god! – but Death Gods with responsibilities. And, since they both had a high rank in their society, they were seen as the example role models for others.

Oddly Renji had felt he needed a bit time alone after he had regained enough energy to move away from Unohana's motherly care. He had been taking training times alone, honing his sword man skills with the simple basic practices. Usually he took someone to train with him, since the training partner was a great help for example pointing out his weaknesses. He wanted to be the best, nothing less. But now, he didn't have any interest in training company. Renji knew he probably made Rukia worried by this all.

The red haired man stood up from his sitting position, sighing. Lifting Zabimaru up to the sky he inspected the rays of sunlight that danced on his sword's blade.

"We really got our asses kicked, didn't we?", he grinned with a bit melancholic wave flashing over his face. "But I bet that girl was in much more worse condition than both of us. Too bad you didn't see her. You would know better what I mean". Renji's lips pressed together, brows knitting. He remembered the collapsed, curled female body next to his legs. He had been way too weak to move enough, even though he had felt he should help her. How, Renji didn't know, not even now. He had been watching her some time until Rukia had arrived to him. Renji couldn't point a finger on the spot that made that girl to appear into his mind. Maybe she was the reason he felt odd pressure in his chest.

"_You're a sissy, Abarai."_

Renji snapped out from his thoughts and saw how Zabimaru's blade smiled at him between the sunlight's rays. He snorted, bringing his sword nearer his nose.

"Who are you calling sissy? Didn't you know we're connected? If I'm sissy it makes you a one, too."

"_I know that we're one"_, the spirit of the sword replied. _"I can read the every movement of your thoughts, feel the every inch of the pain in your body when you're hurt. I'm weak if you're weak, strong if you're strong."_

"Why such a lecture?", Renji groaned lowering the sword to his side.

"_Because I hate __weakness. Since when have you run away from things that make you unbalanced and thus weak?"_

"I- I'm not running away from anything, you if anyone should know that!" he huffed, hurt and annoyed.

"_Lie to yourself as much as you want, but I sniff out the truth – always."_ The sword went silent for a moment, until it stirred its energy again_. "Go to see her"._

A red flame hit Renji's face and he tightened the grip of the swords hilt.

"I'm not going. We stay here and practice", he murmured grunting and made his effort to start his training time after this small break. When he lifted Zabimaru over his head to hit the air before him – like in Kendo trainings – the sword spoke again.

"_You know who would have the answers you seek. But he is not here. Not anymore."_

"And you know I can't go there. That man is… off-limits".

The sword smirked. _"Those rules won't ably there"._

He groaned again and hit the air, bringing the sword for another strike. "At first you want me to go see her and now I should go to see him. You make no sense".

"_Oh, I make perfect sense. As said, don't try to lie to me. I live with and from your feelings and energy. How many times we have roared together and worried together?"_

"Listen, Zabimaru", Renji spoke with a firm voice. "I'm not interested in this conversation. I'm only interested in getting better so I can save myself and others from the injuries in the battlefield. You should do the same. Now, shut up and let me spar."

Like a good follower Zabimaru went quiet and Renji didn't sense his spirit near the blade's surface anymore. It had retreated into the depths of the sword. He, on the other hand, wasn't able to calm down as well as Zabimaru. The words from the sword and its opinions whirled in Renji's head. He thought about it, thought what it had said to him – go to meet the man. If he was worried of the girl, even a bit, the man Zabimaru meant was the best source for the information. Stopping for a second Renji pondered his options.

"_I see I picked up your curiosity"._

"I thought I told you to be quiet", Renji murmured, but he was more occupied by his own thoughts that Zabimaru's insubordination.

"_Come on. You'll be quick with it, no one will notice if you slip away from here for a moment. After all you have been slipping away from others already for a few days so no one will miss you if you disappear for a second"_, the sword encouraged his master. Renji chew his lower lip unconsciously, his narrow eyes squinting.

"_I hate when you're troubled like this. It loosens up your concentration. Why do you let it bug you? Go to find out the answers. It won't take more than a moment, I promise."_

"…. I really don't know, Zabimaru…"

"_God, now you're behaving like a school girl when being asked for a date!"_Zabimaru scolded Renji and managed to get his attention from lip chewing. He knew insults poked and annoyed Renji for the best. _"I'm not suggesting anything serious. You just go back to that town and return here with your answers. Then you can brush it all back behind you and look forward."_

Renji considered Zabimaru's words. They actually made sense… No one really wouldn't notice if he made a quick turn in humans' words. Besides if he didn't feel like it he could skip the meeting with the man and just take a quick look at the girl. To see if she was okay. After all he had smashed her house quite badly and probably gave her a heart attack. Maybe he could then leave this guilty burden behind. It wouldn't make anything bad for him to go there, but help him. The more Renji weighted about it all better the Zabimaru's idea sounded like.

"_I_ _can see you're warming up to my suggestions"._

"Yeah, I am. I think it is perhaps the best if I made just a quick visit at Karakura and returned here asap. It probably won't take more than half an hour and then this is over", Renji spoke out loud. Zabimaru approved his plan with excited energy.

"_Then we should leave soon. Before anyone gets suspicious"._

He nodded with a hum that rose from his chest. This was totally affecting his spirit so it was better to get settled. Once and for all. Quickly and silently Renji opened the portal to the human world. He took a deep inhale, relaxed his body and stepped into the whirl.

This wouldn't cause him any problems for sure.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

From this on this fic will be re-written, as you well saw (and if you remember the original chapters 2 and 3).

The next update might take a bit time since I don't have half of it written already like I did with this chapter. After all I don't like to work with a rush and writing requires right mood.


	3. Original Lollipop

**NiuNiu Note:**

Iget irritated how many typos I miss …! But no worries: Author and beta reader _**Wish Porter**_ will be working with this fic hunting down typos and grammar mistakes. Big thanks to her!

Hey, but now some trivia about Renji which I read from Finnish translation of Bleach (the translator who translates the comic straight from Japanese had wrote a little info about Soul Society's odd names). This is something I had to check out and yes, it was true. I added it into Wikipedia, too. I thought it was rather adorable info and thus needed to be shared!

_Renji as a Japanese name is quite usual, but the way his name is written is rather unusual. The first syllable "Ren" is written as__恋__in kanji and it literally means love, loving, affection to (something/someone) or longing for (something/someone). The second syllable "ji" is written as__次__which means next._

__Aaaaaaaaaaaw ~ I think my heart melted even more!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"She skipped school today".

He almost choked on his cold drink when Chad spoke to him. The tall foreigner sat in front of him, eyes hidden behind his thick, curly bangs. He wasn't able to read Chad's look, but he knew it was serious.

"Inoue skipped the school day?" the orange haired boy shrieked and jumped off from his seat, managing to make a few heads to turn to his sides in the fast food place. Chad cleared his throat and Ichigo sat back down but didn't relax his body.

"I know it's a bad sign when she does that. That's why I thought to tell you", Chad spoke calmly "I assumed she hadn't mentioned it to you".

A groaned sigh passed by Ichigo's lips and he scratched the backside of his head. It was really a bad sign if Inoue – who was the +A student – skipped a school day. It usually meant only the one thing: That she had had a bad seizure. She had had them quite a lot recently…

"Have you heard anything about the… 'reason' behind this?" Ichigo murmured, not wanting to speak of seizures out loud in public.

"Tatsuki told me she had got a new medication, but that's all. I wonder if she stayed home because of the side effects", the dark young man answered, but his wondering was more like a wish, for both of them. Let it be side effects, not a seizure…!

Ichigo stared at his drink whirling the half melt ice cubes in the bottom of the cardboard mug. His brows knitted together.

"I... I wish she would recover from all this soon. That she would get better. I hate what's happening to Inoue. I mean, basically you can just sit there and tell her it's okay…" he talked, mostly for himself than for Chad.

Chad understood his friend's worries. After all he was a son of a doctor. He felt that if anyone was able to cure Inoue, it should have been him. No, it should be him. They had told Ichigo's father about Inoue's condition for first, but since he wasn't specialized in mental care, he had directed Inoue to another doctor. It had stung Ichigo's heart, since like a little boy he had believed that his father would have all the answers in the world and Ichigo himself could help her with his father's advices. But no. Instead Ichigo had learnt that while Inoue would start her monthly appointments with a shrink, Ichigo would start his studies in a private school. A school his father wanted him to attend to and since his father paid for his studies Ichigo couldn't say no. He really wanted to be a doctor like his father someday. Having a friend with a medical condition like Inoue only drove Ichigo more in his studies. The fact that he couldn't be any help for Inoue right now pained the young man.

"I think it would cheer her up if you visited her, Ichigo", Chad finally said after they had sat a moment in a common silence. He received a nod from Ichigo, but he didn't look Chad in the eyes.

"Yeah. I have pretty long days but she is far more important than lectures and home work. Especially if she recently has had a major seizure…" he spoke being deep in his thoughts.

Smirking a bit in the corner of his mouth (something Ichigo didn't notice) Chad picked up the tone in Ichigo's voice. He really, really cared for that girl, no matter how much he refused to believe in it. Making a mental note to himself Chad wondered how long it would take until both of them realized what they felt for each other. He was sure Ichigo had noticed how Inoue flushed pink when he was around and Inoue should have noticed by this time how Ichigo relaxed around her. They brought up the best features from each other.

Besides they would make a really good looking couple.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Renji eyed the city from the top of the police station's roof letting the strong wind wave his hair. The sound of the wind pierced his ears and he snorted, eyes narrowing.

"I'm really starting to have my doubts about this", he mumbled crossing his arms and watched the city below. The red sun hung low above the mountains and Renji knew it would be dark within a few hours. He waited for to Zabimaru to say something but the sword remained silent. He didn't know was it a good or bad thing but after all Renji made up his mind and jumped forward. Like he said he had vowed to take just a quick look around. Standing on a roof top didn't count as a "quick look" around but as piddling.

He tried to avoid as many people as possible, staying on the roof tops. Somewhere a dog spotted him and barked angrily after him but Renji ignored it. He made his way hastily to a certain spot in the city, stopping under the blinking street light. It buzzed trying to stay alive as long as possible. He eyed the strong neon lights that greeted him from the other side of the street. He pursed for the text that the neon lights wrote above the door: _Original_ _Lollipop. _It sounded corny and cheesy and utterly stupid if you asked Renji. He turned on his heels attempting to leave, but Zabimaru's sudden voice stopped him.

_"Why don't you go inside?"_

__"I'm not invited", Renji blurted bluntly taking a step forward. Zabimaru's energy stirred hastily.

_"But you're so near!"_ it insisted thick-headedly. _"Come on, you came this far already."_

__Renji took a look over his shoulder back to the bright neon lights. Near the front door snaked a line of people – all of them being men. Some women hanged around them and sound of laughter and busy talking echoed to Renji's ears.

_"No one notices if you take a look a bit closer. You know he's there"._

__He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. A deep frown ran across his face. He was stupid if he entered and stupid if he didn't enter. Bad choices, both of them. Still he turned around and started to walk towards the club. Renji was able to spot a huge add board next to the front door, full of pictures of smiling women, with names and numbers. Not a whore house, but not far from it either. He wondered why the man had chosen this place from all of the places but when he got inside the building he didn't question it twice: women, everywhere. Smiling, flirting, laughing and entertaining. The atmosphere in the building had no dignity whatsoever but the place reeked like cheap money and false love. Watching around and walking on the tables, from one to another trying to avoid bumping into humans, since they would perhaps feel "odd vibes" if that happened, Renji inspected the scenes around him. He understood that hostess clubs offered female company to lonely (and usually drunk) men and that it was a rather human way to earn a living, but still they reminded him of brothels. They were like… civilised brothels. He sensed how a few of the persons inside looked around when he pushed by them, but he didn't let it bother him. Nor did they, but they returned soon to the chit-chatting and flirting.

The place was bigger what it seemed from the outside. Renji had already picked the energy he was supposed to meet in order to get some answers, right from the beginning he had landed near the club, but he hadn't met the man yet. He kept is steps light and eyes sharp. There was no guarantee that the man would be willing to meet him – a Death God – and it was always a possible that he either ran away or attacked him. Frowning yet again to a couple making out in the shadows of the darkest corners Renji finally saw what he needed. A curtain made of thousands of blue sparkling pearls and behind it there was a man talking with a two women, smiling and sipping a drink. As soon as Renji got his eyes on him the man also spotted him. It was like a slow motion moment in a movie: His head turned to Renji, eyes widening for a moment until the same relaxed look returned to his face. Taking this as a request to move closer Renji made his way to the pearl curtain and stepped in. The man smirked at him but the women didn't pay attention to his presence at all.

"Ladies", the man spoke loudly with a gentle tone, squeezing two young women under his arms. "Would you mind a moment? I'll return soon".

The ladies hummed and let the man stand up. He was taller than Renji had thought and his odd striped hat hid his eyes. He grinned to Renji, opening a path to the sea of the pearl and gestured Renji to follow him.

"This way. Let's find a more silent place to talk", he hissed to Renji, just enough for him to hear it.

A bit unsure, he followed the man's lead pondering if this was really the man he was supposed to seek. His appearance was laid back, attitude almost non-caring and the place where he hanged was more than questionable. The blond man led them to the back side of the club revealing nice and calm living quarters. Oddly enough no sound was heard from the club's side when the sliding door closed behind Renji's back. He thought it was magic. If this guy truly was the one he was supposed to be, a little trick like that wouldn't have been a big deal for him…

"I see Soul Society has sent someone to me", he started pouring whiskey into a small crystal shot class. "I think I have lived quietly enough not to meddle with issues upsetting Seireitei so there shouldn't be any reason for you to be here", he continued lifting the glass up to his lips. Then he turned his head, grinning again with the most polite manner ever. "I must warn you. Though I haven't summoned my sword for a long time I still handle a youngster like you with no trouble whatsoever, lieutenant or not".

His bold comment made Renji's blood boil in his veins, but he kept his temper under control.

"I'm not here under the command of Seireitei", Renji answered matter-of-factly. It brought up a curious energy from the man.

"I see. It's—"

A sudden sound of a sliding door opening behind Renji cut the conversation. Renji turned around and met face to face a dark skinned, yellow eyed woman, who stared him with stony look.

"Kisuke, why this man is here?" she asked crossing her arms with an icy tone in her voice.

"Ah, Yoruichi dear", the man named Kisuke smirked, spreading his arms. "I was just about to ask him. Is he familiar to you?"

Yoruichi cast another look at Renji and wrinkled her tiny nose.

"This is Little Byakuya's lap dog", she hissed lifting her chin higher to a cocky pose. Renji took a step back.

"How dare you insult my captain!" he growled hunching lower to touch the hilt of his sword with his fingertips. The woman before him sneered and shrugged her shoulder.

"Don't bother, darling. You're out of your league here", she warned him which only irritated Renji even more. Such a bold woman! How dare she? He would show her what happened to those who insulted the honour of his captain by—

"That's enough!" Kisuke commanded both of them, stepping between Renji and Yoruichi. He touched Renji's shoulder and he sensed how much spiritual power this man had. It shocked him. If the woman before him hid the same amount of spiritual energy inside her Renji would really be in trouble if he started picking fights here. He relaxed, which eased Kisuke. The blond man smiled again to the woman, his energy returning to a soft level.

"Sweetheart, could you go take care of the girls for me? They're alone in the club and I would appreciate your help now".

She eyed both of the men, considering her options for a second, until she agreed with Kisuke and slid away like a cat. Scratching his head Kisuke turned to Renji, the same smirk playing on his lips.

"I apologize that. My wife is rather hot tempered", he laughed off the tension in the room. Renji let go of his hilt and straightened his back.

"Your wife?" he repeated and earned softer and warmer smile from Kisuke than he had expected.

"Yes. We're outcast, both of us. We're not good enough to Seireitei. Or perhaps we're too good for Seireitei. It's complicated". He kept a small pause inspecting Renji from head to toe and back until he grinned again, lifting his hands on his hips.

"But I suppose you're not aware of this at all, are you?"

Renji shook his head, wondering what kind of mess he had gotten himself in now. Then he remembered why he had come here in the first place. Hastily he bowed down, feeling a huge urge to apologize for his previous actions. He had just insulted his wife!

"I apologise for this trouble, Kisuke-san! I'm here to seek your help for a personal matter!"  
He almost shouted keeping his eyes on the floor. He understood that he was dealing now with a man that could perhaps challenge even his captain and who had a wife who most likely was in the same level with her husband. Renji didn't know much of the man, only that he had been a captain himself once and that he had been exiled from Seireitei for some reason. If there was anyone who knew these two worlds the best, it was him. His wife on the other hand was a complete stranger to Renji. He was better to behave himself if he yearned for the answers. He gulped down the uneasy feeling in his throat, staying still like a statue.

Kisuke was amused by this sudden change in this young, apparently very fierce Death God. He gestured Renji to stand up, still smiling.

"I'm not going to ask any specific details, nor am I interested in who you are. If you're Kuchiki's vice-captain like Yoruichi said I have no reasons to worry. There are other people who are interested in me and Kuchiki-san isn't one of them", he spoke casually returning to his drink. He sipped it calmly, enjoying the bitter aftertaste that burnt his throat. While drinking he watched the walls and ceiling, like there would be something special on them. Renji looked at the same spots Kisuke was watching but he when didn't see or sense anything extraordinary he looked at the man with his drink. His chin had lifted up towards the ceiling and the bright light from the ceiling lamp let Renji inspect his exposed face better. Renji noticed a slightly sorrowful look in his eyes, eyes that were now visible from under the shadows of his hat.

"Though we can never return to Soul Society I still consider my wife and myself to be lucky", Kisuke began, never leaving his eyes from the invisible spot he was staring at. "We ran this business here for women who haven't been so lucky. They're outcast like we are, yet we want to give them a chance to earn money in other ways than selling their bodies and in the emergency cases we provide them with food and shelter. Life is tough here, but you have to be tougher yet never letting yourself become cruel or cold." He took a small pause and smiled warmly, sighing "Besides we always have each other with my wife".

He noticed how his words stung his guest's soul and quickly Kisuke returned the same old boyish grin on his face, hiding again behind his hat's edge.

"My my, forgive me. I got lost in my thoughts. You are here for a reason and I keep wasting your time. My wild guess is that you haven't come here with permission but with a little run-a-way, eh?" he chuckled and Renji noticed that somehow he had managed to switch his glass to a fan. He blinked twice to make sure it really was a fan and not a glass. A shiver ran down to Renji's spine. This guy was something else….

"Yes, I have something I want to ask", he nodded still wondering when Kisuke had managed to take the fan.

"Go on", he urged. Renji scratched the back of his head.

"Well… To be honest I'm not sure what to ask…" he admitted. He hoped Zabimaru would have said something to help him out – it was it's idea to come here after all – but the sword remained silent at his side.

"I have time if you want to tell it all", Kisuke hinted with a grin but before he let Renji answer he replied for the Death God himself:

"Let me guess: It's about a woman, isn't it?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Inoue whirled her bunny shaped tea spoon in her orange jelly that was now nothing but a disturbing looking pile of moving goo. She had been doing that for the last half an hour, just staring at the orange pile without seeing it. It was easy for her to get distracted by her thoughts so badly she lost the connection to this world. Inoue didn't even remember how many times she had walked pass the destination she was going to or how many times she had just barely managed to avoid the possible crash with a car or a biker.

She was still thinking the red haired man and the odd dream of him. The way Kawa had acted felt odd, not to mention about the visit from the man who had arrived to repair her "broken window". She looked at the small glass fragment on the table. She had saved it, for some reason. Picking it up between her thump and index finger Inoue inspected it squinting her eyes.

"I wish you could talk. Then you could tell me what has happened here for real", she mumbled to it, turning it around. Her big toe felt still a bit stingy because of this little rebellious piece of glass. When Inoue had hurried to bathroom to get plaster on her bleeding toe she had found to her surprise that all of the plasters where gone and most of her antiseptic liquid was used. She didn't have any memory of the usage of them – except the fact she had nurtured the unknown man in her dream with them.

It all had confused her and caused Inoue so bad a nauseous feeling that she had threw up. Feeling odd weakness and maybe also a fear she had decided to rest for one day. She assured herself she could catch up with the others on Tuesday for sure.

Inoue was about to finally start eating her smashed and whirled dessert when her doorbell rang. Rising up from the floor she walked to the door, opening it wearily. Her eyes beamed up with pure sunshine when she saw who to guest was.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

The tall orange haired boy greeted her with a wide smile, apparently being relieved that Inoue seemed to be fine. He took a look over her head further into the room.

"Did I interrupt something? I didn't want to call you but surprise you like this. I hope you weren't busy or anything", he said and received a quick shake of the head from Inoue.

"No, no! I'm glad you came. We meet so rarely. Oh please, come on in!" she hurried him closing the door and leaning against it's cool surface, watching how Ichigo took his sneakers off.

"Chad didn't come?" she questioned and Ichigo straightened himself up.

"No, he had to go to work after school. He has the night shift at that movie theatre this week".

"Ah yes, I forgot. How about Ishida?"

Inoue saw how Ichigo grinned walking further in.

"Ishida will be very busy for the next month. I heard yesterday that he finally got the place at Karakura's Summer Fashion Show with his designs. He needs to work his ass off to make the collection by the show".

Inoue jumped in the air, laughing and screaming and run to Ichigo, jumping on his neck.

"That's so great news! I'm sososososoSO happy for Ishida-kun!" she celebrated. She knew how much it meant for Ishida to get his design at the fashion show, even though it was rather small one when compared to the big runways. Still it made her really happy for him! She hugged Ichigo tighter, feeling how he hugged her back. "We need to go to cheer him up at some point and bring him food. I know he will have bad days, too".

Ichigo held her near his frame, the scent of her hair invading his nostrils. He closed his eyes. "I'm so glad to see you so well. I heard you had skipped the school day today. I… I was worried."

"Ah, Ichigo-kun…" she sighed, dropping her arms from his neck around his waist, hugging him. A little blush decorated her round cheeks. "I was feeling a bit dizzy today but don't worry. I'm fine".

He held her even tighter, pressing her head against his chest.

"I'm so sorry I can't come to see you so often as you would need me to come…" he spoke with a sad voice and Inoue looked up to his face, smiling.

"No, Ichigo-kun. I am really happy that you came here now. I know you have your studies in your own school. I want you to become a really good doctor, like your father!"

He chuckled and broke the embrace, holding her hands.

"That will take some time. I'm still just in a high school".

"But that high school trains you for university and it's a really good school! I would hate myself if my problems prevented you from concentrating on your studies. Please, don't let me bother your mind that much! I really am fine!" Inoue pleaded waving their connected hands and pouting. Ichigo gave her a look from under his cocked eyebrow, but finally he sighed.

"Okay. I promise to concentrate on my studies. But first, tell me, have you had any seizures lately?"

Inoue paled a bit when Ichigo mentioned a seizure. She hoped he wouldn't notice that but of course Ichigo did. His bright mood replaced with stern face.

"Was the last seizure bad one?"

"Oh well… I don't know if it was a seizure… It could have been a dream…"

"But?"

"…But there's something odd, something I don't understand."

"Tell me, I'll listen", Ichigo encouraged her guiding Inoue to sit on the sofa. He listened carefully to every detail of Inoue's "seizure-nightmare", like she called it. Every now and then he cocked an eyebrow and frowned in disbelief when Inoue told what had happened the next morning: about Kawa's visit and the repair man and how she had got a fragment of glass into her toe.

"That's so weird", Ichigo admitted after she had finished. She nodded, rubbing her palms together.

"I don't know what to believe…" she spoke quietly. A worrisome look washed over her face.

"Ichigo, I'm so worried about that man!"

"That red haired man you told me about?"

"Yes", she replied with a nod, rubbing her hands more. "I've been thinking that what if… what if he was real, in some odd way? His wounds were so bad…"

"Nah, I don't think he is real. I mean, there should have been a huge pool of blood here if he was real. You just can't wash every drop away so soon, blood stains easily", Ichigo reasoned to Inoue.

She seemed to be torn between two thoughts.

"I just can't get him out of my mind…" Inoue mumbled being a bit ashamed that she worried over something that was most likely a delusion or a dream.

"That's our Orihime! Always worrying over others", Ichigo teased her warm heartedly, nudging her with his elbow. It made her laugh and snap out of her gloomy state. They laughed together and the atmosphere got lighter. Gently Ichigo took Inoue's palms and buried them between his own, looking her lovingly.

"Inoue", he began softly "I want you to remember that I'll be always there for you. I fought with you against these delusions".

Her heart skipped an extra beat and a blush crept all the way up to her ears. She refused to turn her head away but looked the young man in the eyes.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun". That was all Inoue was able to say to him.

She was so glad she had friends like Ichigo. Friends like Tatsuki, Chad and Ishida (even though he was rather shy every now and then). She couldn't wait for the summer break. Then they all would have free time to spend together. They should definitely do something together. It would treat her symptoms and make her feel better.

It would help her forget the red haired man that was nothing but a creation of her imagination. Just like Ichigo had said.

She would never ever see him again!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**NiuNiu Note:**

****About the hostess club's name: Urahara's name's last syllable "Hara" (which is also a Finnish surname) is written as 原 meaning Original. After seeing the Urahara's lollipop scene in the anime I haven't been able to think about him without thinking also of lollipops...


	4. Nondelusional man

**NiuNiu Note:**

Just have to say that I can't listen to WASP's song "Animal" without thinking of Renji nowadays. Thanks to my friend who made me look at the lyrics and listen to the song. Renji's not perhaps that bold but still… At least I now know what I'll be listening to while I write the M-scene!

Or then he is!

Eh, btw, I was a bit disappointed there weren't more than a few pictures made of Renji x Orihime. So I made one and most likely will do more. Check out my DA page – you'll get there from my profile.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Urahara sat outside in his backyard, sucking his pipe calmly. His unexpected visitor had just left for a moment ago and Urahara had felt he should spend a moment alone until he would return back to the club. It was their job – Yoruichi's and his – to watch after the girls.

He took another inhale, leaning back in his cheap looking garden chair. Despite that Urahara had offered his visitor a chance to speak his mind clean, he had remained awfully silent of the matter. His guessing about the woman had hit the right spot since the red haired visitor had agreed with it. A bit unwillingly but still. He had asked how usual it was for humans to see them. Urahara had answered it was pretty rare but he had met some of them. It wasn't unusual to meet them, though he assumed Seireitei still had its rules and instructions for situations like that.

The stranger had fidgeted a bit, admitting they did have rules for encounters, but a certain encounter was still bugging him. Suddenly he had straightened his back, composed his posture and with a deep half thanking, half apologizing bow, he left. He had stepped out side with his shunpo faster than Urahara had managed to notice. He thought the man had perhaps spoken a bit too much and made his leave until he would slip out something else. It had left Urahara curious.

Of course he couldn't think anything else than that the man had encountered some woman under a special circumstances. A lieutenant like him should know what to do so it was even more entertaining to think what was going on.

"Has our guest left?"

He turned his lazy look at Yoruichi, who had walked next to him.

"Yes. He was in a hurry".

"I see", she answered. "What did he want? Is there something going on?"

He smiled, smirking "Oh there sure is, but nothing that concerns us". He blew a perfect smoke ring into the air. "He was just asking about some woman".

Yoruichi's curiosity was piqued.

"A woman? A human woman?" She repeated and earned a hum from her husband. She took a look into the distance from where she was able to sense the stranger's aura. "What does he want with a human woman? I suppose she was still living."

"I didn't get a change to ask. He slipped away so quickly. Though I also think she is a living woman since he was interested in knowing about people with strong spirit powers", Urahara mumbled, thinking.

Yoruichi crossed her arms and took another look at her husband.

"I really can't think what he would need a living human for… I hope this isn't one of Mayuri's ideas!" A cold chill ran up to her neck.

"I highly doubt that, my dear", Urahara calmed her down and stood up, finishing his smoke.

"Byakuya wouldn't let his lieutenant to meddle with Mayuri's stuff. Besides he has his own squad. This is something else. I would guess he was spotted by a human woman and for some reason it bothers him. Maybe the brainwash they do for people like that after being spotted didn't work?"

A moment of a silence filled the air until Yoruichi sighed, making her way back to the door.

"I hope it's nothing serious and that the stranger finds that woman he is seeking for."

"Don't worry, darling. If he just remembers the energy of that woman he should be able to spot her, sooner or later".

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Renji was cussing his decision to leave from Seireitei when the night was close yet still way too far away from Karakura. It would have been easier for him to operate during night. Now if he found the woman he should do his best not to be spotted yet again. If it was night she would be sleeping and Renji could have checked her condition out easily.

He was cursing himself even more. He had no idea why this unknown human bothered his mind so much. If course it was his duty to take care of them when needed, but usually the town's own Death God took care of its residents. Here he was now, ran away from Seireitei just because of some girl. Renji scolded himself for that.

He had searched the trail of energy for a while. It was hard for him to remember what kind of energy the girl had had. His memory was a bit blurry and he had concentrated on getting back to Seireitei more than the woman on the floor. Maybe because of it Renji felt an urge to check her out now, that she was safe and sound. After all she had saved his ass for good.

Renji also felt a bit embarrassed that he had went to see that ex-captain. It had felt like a good idea but then he had got scared. What if Seireitei came asking about his whereabouts from that man and from his wife. If his little trip to Karakura was discovered there was always a change he would be questioned about it – where did he go and why and most importantly who did he met. Renji didn't want to think what would occur if the captains of Seireitei would hear that he had paid a visit to a forbidden man.

He stopped high in the air, painfully aware of the fact that his time was running out. It was possible that his disappearance had already noticed. He felt responsibility also for Rukia, who was one of the dearest beings in the whole universe for him. She was a sister to his captain Kuchiki and if Renji dishonoured himself he would also dishonour his captain and Rukia, who shared the bond of friendship with him.

Then he sensed it – the familiar energy. The wind brought it to him and he was happy to notice it wasn't coming from far away. Rushing forward with his flash step technique he reached his destination, stopping. He remembered the house now that he saw it. Lights were on in many rooms and he picked his senses to find out which one of them belonged to that woman. It was on the top floor for sure. Gulping down the dryness in his throat Renji made his way closer to the apartment he had now found to be the right one. He needed to be careful. He had no intentions in getting spotted… He was rather bad at erasing memories unlike Rukia.

He reached soon the window screen peeking inside as slowly and slyly as he ever was able to. Good thing he had done spying when he was a kid. He had been really good at it, always making sure the routes were save and no one was guarding foods or the water cans. After Renji didn't spot anything alarming he moved a bit to get a better view to the apartment. Lights were on but oddly enough the living room with a small kitchen was empty. He took a look around, listening. When he didn't see nor hear anything Renji cracked the window open, slowly and silently. The energy in the house felt the same yet a different in some way. He started to think that this was a wrong apartment and silently muttered himself when Zabimaru didn't say anything for the matter.

Not knowing exactly why, Renji felt curious. He slid his frame between the opened window screens like a cat, taking small baby steps. The table in the living room had a two the cups on it. The TV had left open playing some comedy series but otherwise the apartment was silent. Scratching the back of his head Renji wondered had the woman left somewhere. Something in the air was disturbing his sense. Maybe it was the memory of that evening they had met? He roamed a few steps further, inspecting the table. Two mugs. It probably meant she had had a guest… The energy could also be from someone else, lingering still in the air. He took a look at the TV wondering what was so amazing about it. He knew almost every human being had one. They also had TVs at Seireitei but for a different purpose. Crossing his arms and tilting his head to a side he watched how two men dressed as woman sang some karaoke song while the audience was howling in laughter.

He really didn't get it…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She sat in her bath tub painting her nails. Tatsuki told it was stupid to paint nails in the bath because of the moisture, but Inoue liked it. She waited for the thin coat of colour to dry until she got up and reached for her bath towel. Inoue was still happy that Ichigo had stopped by so suddenly. After his visit everything felt so much better. It was like all the troubles and worries would have fled away! Smiling widely she wrapped the towel around her wet and naked body and stepped out from the bathroom.

…. Her way cut down quickly. In her apartment, in the middle of the living room's area, stood a red haired man in a black old outfit.

A small sound of "eep" escaped from Inoue's lips.

It was enough for the man. He turned around on his heels, eyes widening when he saw her. Shrieking out loud Inoue rushed to the bathroom, trying to pull the door closed and lock it. The man leaped after her getting a grip from the door's knob and pushing his knee between the door. She was horrified and screamed out loud like if she was watching a horror movie.

"Get away from me!" she yelled trying to pull the door close with her all might. The man was strong. Inoue kicked him on the knee and stomped on his feet. He howled and cursed.

"Stop! Stop that! Fuck, just..!" he roared back at her but it didn't stop Inoue.

For a moment there was a battle of door yanking and shouting until Inoue had to give up. He was way too strong for her and besides her wrapped towel started to slide down in the struggle. She let out a sobbed gasp letting go of the door, turning around to take a hold of her towel. The man yanked to door open and practically jumped in, grapping her from the upper arm with a force and spun her around, pressing her tightly against him. She shrieked again but her voice shut down by a wide palm covering her lips.

"Shut up, just shut it!" Renji hissed venomously being angry with himself. How he had let himself to get distracted by the TV and thus this woman had seen him again. He cursed his luck and his aura was full of furious energy. The least thing he now needed was a screaming woman waking up the whole neighbourhood. He cast an angry look at the orange haired woman and saw that she cried. It made him wince.

"No wait, wait.." he plead and made Inoue struggle. She bit his finger and he yelped in pain.

"Let me go! Someone he-!"

His palm was atop of her lips and this time it staid glued so tightly Inoue couldn't bite him anymore.

"Now, shut it and listen!" Renji demanded with a low tone, keeping Inoue pressed against himself as tightly as possible. He felt how the girl shivered in fear.

"You're the one who saved me. I… I came to say thank you".

No. He couldn't tell her he had arrived to see if she was okay, since it sounded like peeping when he now thought about it. So he told her he wanted to say thanks.

It relaxed the girl. She eyed him with big, moist eyes full of tears that streamed down on his palm. She looked shocked, but didn't struggle anymore to get free. Renji narrowed his eyes.

"I'll let go now, don't scream…" he murmured and lifted his hand away from her mouth, slowly and steadily. She didn't make any sound but kept her eyes on him. Her brows cocked.

"It is you…" she breathed "the man from my dream".

"A dream?" Renji questioned and snorted then "I'm not a dream. I'm-"

He shut his mouth suddenly, thinking it was perhaps best not to talk too much. He noticed that the woman was curious and wanted to ask more.

"Nevermind. I just wanted to thank you, that's all", he mumbled with a low tone. Inoue eyed him keenly.

"Are you alright?"

Her voice was soft. So, so soft it brushed Renji's ears, like she would have kissed his ear shell with her lips. He felt how a dry lump rose up to his throat.

"You were hurt really bad", she continued looking horribly worried. "Are you alright now?"

Her palms were warm around his angular face and he was taken back by this touch. He hadn't seen it coming and the utter worry over his wellbeing was unexpected, too. Renji cleared his throat.

"I—I'm fine, thanks", he replied rather bluntly. It made her smile.

"Good, very good!" she said joyfully. "I've been worried". She squeezed his face, eyes narrowing, like she would have inspected him. Then her eyes shot open.

"You feel so real! Are you … a delusion?"

"No, I'm not", he replied. "I'm no one special, so don't mind me". He did his best to fight the blush that tried to come alive on his cheek bones and he shifted a bit.

It was a mistake.

It made him notice the woman in his hold was actually naked, pressed against his body. He shuttered from head to toe and back. He kept his head up not to peek at her naked bosom. An inviting naked bosom, that is.

"Oh, how can I know you're not a delusion…? What if I'm making this up myself…" Inoue pondered herself, tilting her head from side to side and kept touching his face. It felt awfully real for someone who was supposed to be "no one special". He apparently was special in some way, she just couldn't figure out how. His skin was warm and his red sideburns felt a bit itchy. He had the oddest eyebrows ever, so odd that even Inoue couldn't come up with them in her imagination. Even his breathing on her fingertips felt real when she fondled his manly nose. And… He had a heart beat, she felt it! Felt it rising from his chest with a steady hastened rhythm. It drummed against her own chest and it wasn't until now that Inoue noticed that in the struggle her towel had felt completely down. It guarded her ankles instead of her wet body and she blushed, madly, yanking her arms away from his face. She made a note that he also was blushing almost up to his ears, though he seemingly was trying to act cool and hide it.

"Uhmmhm…" she began, words suddenly leaving her. His eyes darted trying to fix on something else than her body. Renji felt how the cold sweat seeped on his skin.

"Ahmmm… yes..?" he blurted, not knowing what to say either. It was awkward.

"I…. eh… my towel…" Inoue tottered pressing herself even tighter against this stranger. She was afraid he would start peeping at her if she backed away and thus she needed her towel before she could move. His body was the nearest cover for her naked one at this exact moment.

Renji retreat his hand quickly from her lower back where it had staid (way too long). He was sure that if this woman didn't budge away but kept creeping closer she would soon feel something from him which Renji didn't want her to feel. At all. Slowly he lifted his hand to cover his eyes.

"I'm not watching", Renji talked breaking their body connect and turned around, back to Inoue. He sensed how she smiled at him and reached for the towel. The blood rushed in his veins and Renji felt a bit light headed. He wondered why this girl had managed to summon up such intense emotions from him, raw and pure ones. It wasn't the first time he saw, nor held a naked woman. Maybe it was because of her spirit powers, though Renji couldn't sense anything particularly different in her aura when compared to those who didn't notice him. He took a deep, silent inhale to calm his ragging breath.

"You can turn around now".

Her words were shy. Renji turned around like asked, taking a view of her body that was wrapped into the towel. It exposed her long slim legs and nice, very nice bosom with curvy hips. She noticed how he eyed her and a blush decorated her cheeks.

"So, what were you, exactly…?" Inoue asked brushing her wet locks behind her ear, tearing her eyes away from the man. His staring was flattering and embarrassing.

"Uh.. eh, no on important, so never mind", Renji said snapping back to reality. "Like said I just wanted to thank you. You really helped me back then".

She eyed him and lifted her arms on her hips.

"So you're not a delusion?" she asked again.

"No, not a delusion. What makes you think that?"

She shrunk in his eyes.

"No one sees you except me", Inoue whimpered.

"So?"

"So?" she gasped. "They say I'm mental, you know, Mister Mystery Man. That I have schizophrenic seizures when I make up things in my mind…" Inoue spoke sadly. "I eat pills to get better but they're not helping…"

To be honest Renji didn't know what "schizophrenic" meant but he supposed it was something bad from the facial expression that painted the girl's round face. She looked sad and fragile. He scratched his head. He definitely couldn't tell that he was a Death God. Could he be called as a ghost?

"Believe me, the things you see are real", he began, choosing his words carefully. "You're just special when you can see us".

"Us?" she picked up the word. "Are there more of you?"

"Listen, I really can't tell you more. Just that you're very special and that the fact others don't see me except you doesn't mean that I wouldn't be real", Renji explained, as well as he was able to. He had never been too good with words…

She was confused. They had told her she was ill, in a bad way, and now there's this "non-delusional" man who claimed it was all real. She didn't know what to think.

"I have to go".

Inoue lifted her dropped gaze from the tile floor. The man looked bothered and troubled. He hurried away from the bathroom and Inoue jogged after him.

"Hey, wait! I haven't finished yet! I want to know more!" she begged with a loud tone. The man turned around and took a serious look at Inoue.

"I really have to go", he spoke firmly.

His sudden change felt odd to Inoue.

"Will you come back?" she asked. She wanted to know more about her condition and this man knew something, something more than he let her believe. He was her only source.

"No".

His reply was blunt and definitely not the one Inoue wanted to hear. She walked closer to the man who made his way away from her.

"Please, you need to come back! I have to know more about this".

Inoue watched with widened eyes as the man took his sword. She stepped back, horrified.

"I don't belong here", he replied and commanded his sword with a word "Howl!" It changed it shape into a nasty one and the back hair of Inoue's neck rose up. She watched as a white portal opened in the middle of her living room and how the man navigated to it. She rushed after him.

"No, wait! Don't go!" her voice plead. She reached her hand as far as she was able to touch him, to stop him for a moment, but he disappeared without words. Her finger touched something and she wrapped them around it, hoping to make him turn back. In a flash he was gone and Inoue was left to stand in her apartment, dazed, alone, towel wrapped around her body and a white piece of a fabric in her hold.

It was his bandanna. She had managed to snatch it from him.

She felt bad for it and happy for it. Maybe he would return for his belongings. Maybe he would be more willing to tell her about her seizures and the things that weren't real yet were real. She was worried this was seen as thievery. Maybe he would be just angry, if he returned…She fondled the fabric between her fingers, thinking. Would it be a good or a bad idea to tell Ichigo about this? Or tell to Tatsuki? She considered it and decided to make her mind about it later. Now she had too many thoughts racing in her head like a millions of bees.

She stood there waiting for the man to return for his bandanna, but nothing happened. Inoue sighed. Maybe he would return some other day. She really wished for it. There were so many things she wanted him to tell her.

"Come back", she said quietly to the white fabric. "I didn't manage to ask your name…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I hope "the naked woman and the odd stranger" wasn't a too much of a cliché… :'D


	5. A place that helps girls

Sorry for the very long hiatus! I was working as a freelancer journalist writing so much I didn't even want to open Word on my free time. Those days are however gone by now, so I can continue this fic with pleasure.

Longer chapter after the break, enjoy!

p.s. this chapter is not beta read. I wasn't sure would the original beta still want to work with me after the break. : T

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-..-.-

Three months later and Inoue still hadn't made her mind whether to tell the visit of the unknown man to anyone or not. She was afraid that everyone would get worried of her – mostly she scared that if the news of her new seizure would reach Ichigo's ears the boy wouldn't be able to concentrate on his studies. She didn't want that. Didn't want to make others worried. On the other hand it was painful to carry something you wanted to talk so bad inside you.

Everything had been so hazy and almost dreamy like after the encounter with the man from her dream. She tried her best not to think about it, but the white bandanna he had "left" to her custody didn't help her to forget. She wasn't sure would the bandanna be counted as something as delusional and thus would it be invisible to others, but she didn't want to find that out. So Inoue had hit it well, hit it so that no one could find it, not even accidently. Tucked under the piles of her panties in the drawer seemed the best place for Inoue. Most likely the man wouldn't come to get it back, though Inoue still hoped it. It was rather devastating that there was someone – or something, Inoue wasn't sure yet – who knew something very essential of her condition yet she had no way to contact him. Inoue had wondered could she bait the man out from where ever he was with fresh baked cookies. That's what they did in the Western countries to lure the Santa Claus out from the chimney, or something similar. She didn't remember the story very well.

She snapped out from her thoughts when she heard a faint "excuse me". Rising her gaze from the pavement her eyes met with young woman's eyes, eyes that seemed a bit worry some. She was tiny and looked very young to Inoue.

"I'm sorry, but could you tell me how to get to the Original Lollipop?" the young woman asked, having a piece of paper in her hold. Inoue chewed her lip.

"Original Lollipop?" she asked, tasting the name on her tongue. She had never heard of it.

"Yes, I try to get there but I just keep going circles. Here's the address", the woman said offering the paper to Inoue. She inspected it for a moment.

"Oh, it's pretty far away from here!" she gasped looking at the address that was written down with a pink pal point pen. "Are you new in Karakura?"

"Kind of, just passing by, trying to get back home. I've heard the owner of the Original Lollipop is a very kind couple helping girls if they're in trouble", the stranger smiled, looking a bit beaten in Inoue's eyes. She took another look at the address on the paper.

Owners that helped girls in trouble... Inoue wanted to ask what kind of a trouble this young dark haired woman actually had, but she didn't want to be rude by asking it. She lifted her gaze up, smiling.

"I can take you there if you wish. The metro station is nearby and after that we need to take a bus and walk a bit. It's easy to get lost", Inoue soothed the woman. She smiled back to her.

"Oh that would be so wonderful", she chirped happily but then her look got stern "...Though I can't repay you this right now, but I promise, someday if we meet again I will thank you properly".

Inoue laughed at her, waving her palms in the air saying she didn't need to repay her anything.

"I'll take it as little adventure", Inoue hummed happily. The small woman nodded, agreeing.

"Let's go!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Original Lollipop wasn't exactly the place Inoue would have guessed they were heading to. The pair stood on the pavement, watching how a crowd of men idled around the front door, women in too skimpy outfits keeping them company.

Inoue took another thoughtful look at the address she had in her hold, pouting her lips.

"I'm sure this address is right but..." she murmured, glancing at the neon buzzing sign. "...Are _you_ sure this is the right place?"

The woman next to her hesitated a bit but nodded soon.

"I'm positive about it".

Inoue was more than doubtful. Just what kind of help the couple owning this place was providing to girls anyway? Somewhat feeling responsible for her short time travelling companion Inoue turned to face the small woman.

"Let's go inside together. I don't want to you to go there alone – just in case".

They made their way further in, pushing by the masses of people. Inoue didn't know who they were looking for, but the small woman leading the way seemed like knowing how the owners would look like. Thus Inoue decided just to follow her.

Soon the woman stopped before a dark skinned woman and even though the whole place had only a dim lightning Inoue could have sworn the woman's eyes were yellow.

"I'm looking for Urahara-san", the small woman said to the yellow-eyed woman, who took a look at both of them, then smiled and nudged her head to her left side.

"Kisuke is in the dancing lounge. You'll find him there".

She thanked the woman, still leading the way and as they pushed pass the dark skinned woman Inoue got a glimpse from the corner of her eye of the woman's face – she was staring at her, rather keenly. Inoue pressed closer to her companion, hoping the yellow-eyed woman wouldn't see how scared Inoue got.

It wasn't hard to find the owner named Urahara Kisuke. His striped hat was like a lighthouse in the dancing area, his body leaning against the elbows on the bar counter. He sensed the girls approaching and turned his head to their side.

"Oh, you're both new here!" he greeted happily, taking at first look at Inoue and then the smaller woman. The smaller woman spoke with a low tone.

"I'm having trouble with my gigai".

"Oh", he sounded curious, stretching his amazement. "I wouldn't have expected anyone of you turning to me with this matter. Don't you have your own professionals to deal with gigai issues?" he smiled, the hat hiding his eyes. Inoue had no idea what they were talking about.

"I was ordered to come to you", she said bluntly, a bit embarrassed. "The gigai won't come off. I've been stuck here for two weeks because I can't go back with the gigai. My superiors are expecting me to return and for some reason nothing helps".

The man inspected the woman from head to toe, grinning.

"They still haven't mastered the gigai and its functions I see", he muttered almost victorious manner, mostly to himself. Standing up he gestures the girls to follow.

"Let's go to the living area. We can discuss there more"

Inoue felt like being totally ignored but not knowing what to do or what was going on, she followed the man's lead. They entered the small living room and as the door slid close behind them Inoue didn't hear any noise from the other side. It made her rather... nervous.

"Now, if you just follow me and I see how I can help you with your troubles. You Miss Orange Locks can wait here and make yourself comfortable. The fruits on the table are edible – please, help yourself."

Inoue looked how the man and the woman disappeared into another room, the door shutting behind them. Being a bit wary she sat on the floor next to kotatsu-table and rolled a big red apple between her palms. She wished she wouldn't have gotten herself in any trouble and that the woman she had met would be okay.

She didn't sit alone more than perhaps ten minutes playing with the apple rather than eating it, when the sliding door opened again. Urahara stepped out with the small woman, who now wore a different outfit.

Inoue stood up hastily, paling.

"You... You changed your clothes", she tottered with her words, staring at the woman wearing very familiar looking black, traditional Japanese outfit. "It's the same as the man's..." she breathed out.

The small woman looked at Inoue with horrified eyes, lips slightly apart. She didn't move.

"I..." she began, looking for right words and after small struggle composed herself. "..yes.. Yes. I was changing to something more appropriate".

"Is it for getting back home?" Inoue asked, stepping closer. She didn't see how Urahara looked at her curiously.

"Uh yes. It's... somewhat formal return", she said looking at Inoue's grey eyes, seemingly shocked.

"You looked surprised, too, Miss Orange Locks", Urahara cut in the middle, smiling at Inoue gently. She nodded to him, placing then her focus back on the black outfit, eyes squinting.

"It's very similar to the outfit I saw on a man", Inoue spoke thoughtfully, cocking her eye brown.

"On a man?" Urahara repeated.

"Yes", she replied but then remembered that she was speaking to strangers. Not wanting to sound mentally unbalanced or anything similar, Inoue painted a smile on her face, waving her hands.

"Oh but it was just a silly dream I saw. There was this man with similar outfit crashing into my apartment; white bandanna, red hair and very odd tattoos covering his upper body and the forehead. Can you believe it?" she laughed out loud.

"Abarai-kun?!"

Inoue's laugh stopped like cut with a knife when the small woman spoke, now looking like she would have seen a ghost. The colour from Inoue's face dropped down, too.

"—What?"

The woman blinked for a moment, hastily putting weak smile on her lips as a cover.

"Ah.. I mean I never asked your name", she changed the subject quickly, bowing. "I'm Hinamori Momo, nice to meet you and thank you for your help."

"My name is Inoue Orihime, everyone calls me just Inoue", the orange haired girl replied back with a bow. She was about to ask what she had said just after Inoue finished telling about her "dream", but Urahara's tongue was faster than hers.

"I think it's Hinamori-san's time to go back home and I think it's also getting very late for you Miss Orange Locks", Urahara spoke casually with light tone, patting Hinamori on the shoulder. "I will see that Inoue-san gets safely back home, don't worry about that".

He earned a nod from Hinamori, who bowed last time to Inoue saying her thanks until she disappeared back to the business side of the house. Inoue wanted to follow her, but Urahara's warm yet firm grip on her shoulder stopped her.

"I'm very amazed, impressed", he spoke casually inspecting Inoue from head to toe. "I think this is getting even more curious than I expected at the beginning." Seeing how the young teenager eyed him with shocked look he let go of her, laughing heartily. "Ah, nothing like that my dear, no need to give me that look", he chuckled adjusting his hat.

There was a small silence until Urahara spoke again.

"Not many of humans can see Hinamori or likes of her when she's in her own form".

"Likes of her..." Inoue repeated slowly, feeling how the cold sweat formed on her skin. He saw Inoue had already drawn the connection between the two dots.

"I must tell you that some time ago there was a man here with similar outfit, white bandanna, red hair and tattoos – though I have no idea where they start and to where they end – asking some questions about humans with great spiritual powers. AND precisely about some woman".

Inoue's head spun. "..What? The same man I saw in my dream?"

"Are you sure it was a dream?"

She hesitated under his question, squeezing her hands together before her, lowering her saddened look on the floor.

"I don't know", Inoue whispered sadly with barely heard voice. "I feel I know nothing of anything anymore..."

"Sit down my dear. Let's have a talk", Urahara gestured, sitting down and urging Inoue to sit back on the floor. She didn't want to, she was nervous and scared that the issues of her delusions would be brought back to the daylight after long silence, but the small feeling in her guts implied she yearned for some answers.

"Tell me everything", Urahara requested softly.

So she did. She told everything she had experienced to this unknown man, strangely trusting in him. Inoue told how the mysterious man had crashed into her apartment, how he had been injured, how he had arrived back (though she didn't say anything of what happened in the bathroom) and how she had been diagnosed with the schizophrenic disease. The man before her listened carefully her story, catching uneasiness in her energy.

"I see", he said when Inoue finally stopped. "How unfortunate for you to be called as mentally ill, when truth to be told you're gifted", Urahara smiled gently, waving his fan. "That Hinamori who came here with you – she's quite special. What's even more special is that you saw her without gigai".

"Gigai?"

"A faux body to be precise", Urahara pointed out, drifting the conversation back to Inoue before she was able to ask anything regarding faux bodies. "I'm pretty sure the man who came here was the same who visited you, both unintentionally and intentionally".

"... Why would he come to me...?" Inoue spoke sounding troubled and worried, more to herself than Urahara.

"I think it's because of your spiritual powers, but this is only my guess. You should ask about it from him".

"I... I could ask him?"

Urahara didn't miss the tone in her voice, how eagerly she had asked her question. He smirked.

"Well, it's not that easy to be honest, to meet him again I mean. He's not exactly from this world", He took a small pause, looking at Inoue who seemingly disappointed when Urahara stated it wouldn't be easy to meet with the red haired man. "However", he spoke quickly "Though I can't promise that you two would meet again, I'd still like to help you with your 'symptoms'"

Inoue was taken back by this offer, which to her ears sounded rather sincerely.

"Really?" she hesitated a bit.

"Sure. I would hate to leave a girl in trouble. After all my wife and I build this place in order to help girls in trouble". Urahara leaned forward, his eyes becoming visible from the under of his hat. "Any girl. With any trouble. And I'm pretty sure we both are the best help that can be provided to you."

"I.. I can believe that", Inoue muttered. She remembered something.

"You said the girl who just was here was somehow special. How?"

Urahara leaned back, inhaling deeply.

"I really shouldn't be telling about these things, since they're classified but the classification is done by an authority that has no impact on me whatsoever", he circled the question of Inoue. "But I'm pretty sure you would find these things out sooner or later."

"That cute little girl you walked here with was a Death God – same as the man you met".

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Renji lolled on his stomach on the tatami mat, arms crossed under his right cheek. The sliding door leading to a small garden was wide open and with closed eyes he listened to how the cicadas sang in the humid summer air – and how Hinamori groaned on his back.

"What on earth you've been doing, Abarai-kun", Hinamori exhaled with pouting, leaning heavier against her stretched arms to give Renji a deeper rub between the shoulder blades. "Your muscles are still so tense even though I've massaged this spot for so long".

He chuckled between her legs, eyes staying closed.

"Practicing babe, practicing", he stated smirking, knowing just how much it irked Hinamori if someone called her a babe. She always insisted that someone like Matsumoto would fit well in that description but not her. She'd rather be a flower. He always teased her like that.

"I've worked my ass off with Zabimaru. I want to get better", Renji murmured into his forearm.

"But you are already very good", Hinamori encouraged her friend but earned only half-annoyed huff.

"Not enough".

They staid in silence, Momo sitting on Renji's lower back legs spread to his sides, massaging his aching muscles. After a moment she broke the silence with soft voice.

"Is something bothering your mind, Renji-kun?"

She sensed him tensing under her small palms for a second until she heard him chuckle again.

"No, I'm fine. What makes you think that?"

"Well", Hinamori began, slowing her massaging pace. "You've seemed so… distant lately. Even Kira pointed that out. At first I thought you just wanted some time alone but… It's been three months already…"

Renji growled deep in his chest, now opening his eyes and turning his head more, like trying to take a look at Momo from the corner of his narrowed eyes.

"Are you two spying on me?" Renji asked, voice coloured with irritation. Hinamori shook her head though he couldn't see it.

"No, nothing like that", she assured.

The silence spread in the room again. Only the cicadas' sound was heard.

"Abarai-kun…" Hinamori began again when the silence had lasted too long for comfort. "I heard you were injured when you went to the living world with Kuchiki-san."

"Got a few scratches", he lied, not really feeling like talking about that event.

"Oh but did you hear what happened to me", she switched the subject speaking with bright voice, still massaging. "I got stuck in gigai. Got. Stuck. In. Gigai. For two weeks!"

He laughed out loud, thin Hinamori waving with the rhythm with his sound

"How the hell you managed to do that", Renji asked clearing his throat, still smiling a bit impishly.

"I don't know and I don't want to know. Next time I am not, not, not taking a gigai. Ever."

He listened to her stern voice, seeing mentally how Hinamori probably pouted with a frowning face above him. Her hands felt soft and warm on his back, touching the tattoos.

"I was so scared that I couldn't come back home. The world there is so similar to us and yet so utterly different I wouldn't have hated staying there forever. I… I don't like things that are unfamiliar to me", she talked quietly, moving her attention lower on Renji's back, giving a rub which was just a barely stronger than a regular stroke.

"… I bet she's scared, too".

"Hmmm? Who's scared?" Renji questioned with closed eyelids, enjoying the pampering.

"The girl who helped me back there", Momo replied, smiling a bit. "She was really pretty. I'm sure you would have liked her".

"Perhaps. Was she in trouble? You said she's probably scared. Of what?"

"… Us".

Renji's eyes shot open. He remained silent, too afraid to say anything. He feared what Hinamori might say next. A part of him knew the answer already.

"She saw me, in my usual form" Hinamori licked her lips nervously, weighting the words. "She told me how my outfit looked similar to a man, who had crashed into her home, injured. A man with a white bandanna, red hair and tattoos".

Renji bucked up from the tatami like hit by the lightning, dropping Hinamori on the floor. She landed on her butt, yelping.

"Abarai-kun!"

"I have to go. Thank you for the massage", he said matter-of-factly, staying back turned to Hinamori. She stood up quickly, reaching out to Renji's palm when he tried to make his way out.

"Abarai-kun, please", she plead holding him still "I don't know what happened between you two nor I'm interested in it but please, you should go to see her".

He frowned, eye brows drawing a deep line on his forehead.

"That wouldn't change a thing. It could make it even worse".

"..I.. I'm aware of that…" Hinamori breathed out, looking at Renji's wide palm between her own tiny ones. Her fingers trembled. "But I just have this feeling it would do good to her. She probably sees other death gods, too. And souls and hollows. She must be really scared, not knowing what's going on…"

Renji didn't reply.

"And I made a promise! She helped me and I promised I would repay it somehow. Without her I probably would still be in Karakura, stuck in faux body running around in circles."

"Doesn't that mean you should be the one making the repay?"

"Abarai-kun", she pleaded again with a tiny sob "I'm worried of that girl. I don't know why but I can't stop thinking of how she's doing. She has seen you and helped you. She kind of knows you better than me. Besides I've had enough of the living world for a life time. Go to her, please".

She tried to read any sign of approval or refusing from Renji's aura. The man stood still back showed to her.

"I can give you hundred more back rubs if you go!"

He lowered his chin, ponytail waving with the shake of his head.

"Bribing me now, aren't we, Hinamori-chan?" Renji grinned.

"I wouldn't ask anything like this from you unless it was serious".

He didn't quite agree with Hinamori about the seriousness of the issue on hand, but Renji made a mental note not to say it out loud. Instead he turned to face Hinamori, sighing.

"Alright. If it matters to you so much I'll go. But just this once", he warned lifting his index finger up. Hinamori beamed.

"Thank you, Abarai-kun! I knew I could count on you".


	6. The Offering

Lots of books, lots of papers, even bigger amount of tests and so many new words in such a short notice Inoue was sure that if she wasn't mental yet, she soon would be.

She sighed heavily, leaning against her living room's kotatsu, burying her face into the opened book.

"Oh this is so hopeless", Inoue whined into the spread pages, turning her head. "There are so many things I should learn and follow. Am I a bad person for thinking taking the pills would be easier, even though they probably wouldn't help enough?"

Naturally the book didn't answer.

Urahara had helped as promised, but not in a way Inoue has expected. She admitted to herself that what she though Urahara was going to do with his wife was to give some stronger pills to her. Or some magical remedy that would shut down her too vivid senses. Instead she received training; how to control her abilities, information of different soul types and how to deal with them, explanation of the living world and the world of death and so on. Urahara had even discovered that Inoue's abilities could be used in healing, if she just trained them a lot more. Grinning the striped hat man had stated that unfortunately he couldn't just snap his fingers and make it all better to Inoue but she would need to do half of the work: study. Study and learn and read until she would understand it all, because understanding something made it less scary. Next time Inoue would spot the Hollow she would know what she was seeing and how to act to keep herself and those she loved save.

"_Though it's not exactly your responsibility to deal with Hollows in anyway", the man had spoken to Inoue munching the end of his pipe. _

"_What do you mean?" she had asked with the green tea mug between her palms._

"_Oh, forgotten already my dear? I told you about Hinamori and the other death gods. It's their job. They can't interfere with humans' life more than necessary and one of these necessary tasks is to guard them from Hollows."_

"_But I thought you said Hollows prey on souls that haven't left the earth yet, especially the ones with the high spiritual powers…" Inoue had pointed out. _

"_Yes, mostly, but they wouldn't mind about having a living human with a high spirit powers as a snack, though I have to admit it's very rare." He had kept a pause, taking inhale from his smoke. "The change for that is still there, just so you know. That's why I want to teach you how to act if you spot a Hollow, a small or a big one, just in case there's no death god nearby"._

She repeated that conversation in her head again and again, suddenly blushing. Inoue couldn't help the idea of a red haired death god dancing nearby her, saving her from a Hollow if she got in trouble. Smiling Inoue played with the idea; she would be walking down the street somewhere around late evening, when the hugest and the scariest Hollow would appear out of nowhere. She would get scared, naturally – she got scared even when she saw a moth. Maybe she would shriek or at least gasp, yelling "Help!" or "a Hollow!". The Hollow would roar, turning to her and almost snatch her into its mouth with its long, thick claws but then BOOM! and SLASH! and CRACK! A knight in a shining black death god's robe with a fiery mane would arrive out of nowhere, cutting the horrid beast with one single strike of his sword. Then he would ran to her, scoop her up from the ground where she would had collapsed on her knees, asking if she was alright. She would nod weakly, smiling and taking look at his narrow eyes, inspecting his face closer. He would look at her gently, pressing her still shivering body closer against his chest, his warm breath washing over her blushed face. Slowly he would lean lower, parting his thin lips and capturing her mouth with his and—

No!

No way!

She couldn't be day dreaming of a completely unknown man like this. If she should be dreaming of someone it should be Ichigo – he had always been there in her dreams and fantasies. Straightening her back Inoue ignored how her cheeks burnt. The romantic novels she read before going to bed were definitely playing with her head.

Sighing Inoue concluded it was perhaps the best to leave the studies to wait tomorrow, when her mind wouldn't be wandering so much on its own. Silently she made her way to the bathroom. A hot bath would ease her mind. Maybe she could try to concentrate and get closer with her abilities.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He saw her dancing in her apartment wrapped in towel, slim legs bouncing her around with the sound of a beat which Renji couldn't hear. He stood on a roof top across her apartment, wind catching his hair and hesitated. Hesitated his next move. Hinamori had wanted him to check out how the human girl was doing and judging from the joyful movement she was fine in Renji's book. He was tormented between the two options; to go there and spoke with her or just leave and tell Hinamori everything was fine. Wrinkling his nose eyebrows furrowing Renji had to admit he wasn't the best guy in coming up with white lies. If Hinamori just pushed him enough with questions like _"what the girl said to you",_ _"how did she react" _or _"did you really, honestly, truthfully meet her"_ he would crack under the pressure, dishonouring his promise and making Hinamori upset. If there was something Renji absolutely hated and despised it was making girls upset.

"_How did she react…." _Well, there was another question Renji feared. He had no idea how the orange haired human lass would take his sudden appearance. He wasn't sure would he even want to find that out. When Renji looked the situation he had gotten himself into it started to look more and more like either upsetting the orange haired girl or upsetting Hinamori. Both bad options.

Watching how the human girl danced out from his view to further into the apartment Renji felt an urge go to nearer. To see where she had went to, to catch another eyeful of her wet hair and pink towel, slim legs and wide smile. He scolded himself in his mind for letting his composure break so easily.

Without noticing Renji found himself standing on the balcony. The same window he had broken and later came into the house without permission, just to end up battling with his mind the half naked girl pressed against his chest, was greeting him again. Slowly his long, slim fingers curled under the frame.

….

..

It wouldn't hurt him to look inside. It wouldn't hurt just to take little loo closer, to make sure the girl was alright. It would do for him and it would do for Hinamori and end of the story. He could go home, have some taiyaki and cold sake, and pester another back rub from Hinamori like promised.

Instant scent of strawberries lingering in the air welcomed Renji when he stepped quietly like a cat to the living room. Everything was neat and clean, just like he remembered it, and the sweet scent was the same he had smelled in the bathroom last time he was here. How could he ever forget that? Those big bright eyes, those frowned eye brows, those soft curious hands all over his face brushing, touching, pressing, probing, caressing. That soft and still so young body rushing his blood into the wrong places.

Scolding himself yet again for letting his guard drop and become sentimental over something so stupid Renji took a look at the tv. He was glad to see it was closed.

"Ah, it's you!"

Turning slowly around Renji met face to face the orange haired girl, smelling like strawberries, standing in the living room's door way in bunny pyjama pants and white night top, with laces, Renji noticed. He also couldn't help to see how alluringly the thin top revealed her bosom. He tore his eyes out of it quickly.

"I… I thought you wouldn't come but I just knew you would!" Inoue chirped, seemingly happy to see the uninvited guest yet again in her house. "Did you come for the bandanna?"

"No", he blurted bluntly.

"But... I've saved it…" Inoue tottered surprised. Renji eyed her from head to toe.

"You can keep it. I have plenty of them"

"Thank you! I will keep a good care of it!" she informed straightening her back and earned a little smirk from Renji. She was acting so much like Hinamori, so full of that innocent energy. No wonder she had wanted to make sure this girl was alright. He was both surprised and thankful that the girl hasn't thrown a fit because of his appearance, like he had feared just a second ago. She still looked to be fine.

"So ehm… Why did you come here, exactly?" the girl spoke softly, like fearing the answer. Renji shook his head, still smiling a bit.

"I guess I'm here again to thank you".

"Thank me? But I haven't done anything you should be thankful for…" she pondered crossing her arms and chewing her cheek.

"Not to me, but for a very good friend on mine, Hinamori Momo. She said you helped her when she was in trouble". Renji saw how the glimmer appeared to Inoue's eyes, lips spreading into a wide smile.

"Hinamori-san, I remember her", she breathed looking happy.

"Hinamori sent her greetings to you".

"She didn't come here herself?"

Renji chuckled loudly.

"No. She said she'd had enough of this world for a long time".

Inoue kind of understood what he meant, smiling back. She was happy she had stopped to help the girl who didn't belong into this world. Whether she was just a spirit or a death god, Inoue was glad she had helped.

Suddenly she realised something, something very important.

"A death god!" she gasped and made Renji snap. "I… I forgot you're a death god!"

"Death G- Hey how do you kno-"

Renji couldn't finish his sentence when Inoue started to bounce here and there, like looking for something.

"Oh no oh no oh", she muttered and babbled, ignoring Renji's outstretched palm that tried to stop her without any touch, like being able to seize her still with the willpower.

"Gods, they need offerings, something to offer", she continued talking to herself, looking more or less pale. Renji cocked his eyebrow.

"An offering? Wait, are you looking an offering for me?" He couldn't believe he had asked it. "I don't ne—"

"There!" she yelled out loud and spurted to the sink, snatching a big red apple from the basket. She returned hastily back to Renji, bowed deep down before him and offered the apple with both hands to him.

"Mister Death God please, accept my humble offering!" she nearly shouted, leaving Renji stand there dazed, blinking. He removed the apple slowly from Inoue's hold.

"Thank you but I… really don't need any offerings…" he murmured, not knowing what to do with the fruit. Her head rose a bit when she turned to look at him, still in the bowed position.

"It's not good enough for you?" she said with a curious tone, hint of sadness clouding it. Renji opened his mouth to say the fruit was more than enough and she really shouldn't trouble herself with such a trivial matter, but yet again Inoue was faster than Renji's lips.

"Oh no, the death god is not happy with my offering", she howled. "I, I need something else, please, wait here".

She was gone to another room before Renji managed to say stop. He took a deep breath and looked the apple in his hand, eyes narrowing. Just what kind of a girl he had managed to find? From what he had see this far she was someone who did what she believed to be right without listening to others, acting hastily, going around from place to place like a tornado.

Renji mentally winced when he realized that description sounded a bit too familiar…

Inoue returned as fast as she had disappeared, bowing again to Renji and offering something closer.

"Mister Death God, please, accept this offering and may it be satisfying enough!"

Renji tried to sigh as quietly as he ever was able to, not wanting to offend the young woman who clearly though giving him an offering was a matter of life or death. He took the small bunny shaped rubber between his fingers.

"A rubber?" he spoke, inspecting the tiny piece.

"My favourite rubber. I got it from my brother when I was eight," Inoue spoke rising slowly to the upright position. Renji couldn't miss the look in her eyes.

"Where's your brother now?"

"… In that place where you come from…" she answered quietly after a small silence, fumbling with her fingers.

He sighed, this time louder drawing Inoue's attention to himself. Stepping closer Renji took her palm into his, opened it and placed the small bunny in it.

"Keep it", he spoke softly, curling her palm close with both of his hands. "It matters to you much more than it matters to me. You shouldn't give away your little treasures so easily", Renji scolded brotherly.

"But… it's an offering.." Inoue tried but was cut down by Renji's uplifted hands.

"I've tried to say I don't need offerings".

"Giving an offering to a god ensures good luck", Inoue spoke, mostly to herself.

Luck. Good luck. He should have seen the connection there. Renji mentally smacked himself. Of course the girl wanted good luck to her life. She was alone here, surrounded by the spirit world which was visible only to her, most likely battling with every day issues because of her abilities – and Renji recalled her talking something about medication last time – and most importantly she probably missed her brother. Maybe the offering was meant in her books to ensure that the good luck would also reach her brother.

"You're right", he breathed out, giving up. "An offering to a god is a very good way to wish good luck to you and the loved ones. I gladly take the apple with me. It's a very good offering."

Her mood brightened up and he couldn't hold down the tiny smile that crept on his face. Her eyes were like two stars surrounded by still a bit wet orange field just before the dusk. He wouldn't have minded to stare them for a little longer – unless they darkened, just like now.

"A small apple isn't much of an offering", she muttered looking at the apple. "Do you think it's good enough for better luck?"

"I think this is brilliant gift", he took the apple into his hand, bouncing it up and down before him with one arm. Inoue sucked her lower lip and followed the apple's journey.

"By the way, I have to ask", Renji began "how did you know about death gods?"

"My mentor told me about you. The man who helped Hinamori-san", Inoue told truthfully, watching the taller man with keen eyes.

"Were… were you afraid? When you heard about … us?" Renji wanted to say "about me" for some reason, but he couldn't.

Inoue shook her head.

"No, I was kind of relieved. I got some answers. Well, lot of answers actually."

"Hhmm, figures…" Renji muttered looking past Inoue, drifting into his own mind. He had pondered many times in his head what the life was for someone like this orange haired girl, especially when you had no idea of what was going on. Renji couldn't say that he knew much of the word of living, but he had got the idea things like spirits, gods, hollows and such were never taught to humans.

He felt shy, light touch wrapping around his index and middle finger.

"Thank you. For keeping us save. Fighting hollows and such, isn't that what you do?"

Renji's lips parted to a silent answer.

"…Yes, that's what we do..." he replied being too aware of the touch, too afraid to return it with his free thump.

"And the apple I gave you, will it bring me good luck?" Inoue asked softly, keeping her eyes cast up to his face. The face he tried to hard to keep together.

"..I assure it will", he replied with a dry throat, battling with the urge to lower his gaze down to the neckline of hers.

"Really? Because I could use some luck here. I have horribly much things to learn and so little time", she replied back. Renji chuckled with low tone, trying to keep his voice steady, but he couldn't say anything. His lack of words piqued Inoue's interest. She looked at him with a frown.

"But you're not sure about that", Inoue spoke noting how the death god's facial expression deepened with uncertainty. A corner of her mouth switched.

"I can't take any risks. I really need all the luck I can get. I think you understand that, Mister Death God".

Renji barely managed to part his lips to ask what the hell was wrong with this girl for going from a hyper jumper to a silent pyjama seducer in a matter of minutes when his parted lips got caught between Inoue's soft lips. Gently but firmly she took him off guards, leaving him stunned in her shy hold, her tiny fingers tightening around his long ones. The small kiss was gone sooner than Renji realized, giving him just barely time to return it, rather sloppily.

She lowered herself back to soles from tiptoeing, eyes looking for something else to look at than his face.

"I hope that's good enough of an offering", she said rather bluntly with reddened cheeks, retrieving her fingers back to her, rubbing her hands nervously together. "For the good luck".

"...That was more than enough", he was able to say as steadily as possible, ignoring how loud his heart beat. Or how hot his own skin had became suddenly.

"Good, good!" Inoue smiled widely, eyes closing. "I'll be expecting something good to happen then."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Nothing good happened. Absolutely nothing. Instead she received a message that Ichigo had sprained his wrist and wasn't able to attend the lessons as well as he should have. Tatsuki wasn't sure anymore would she have time to go to Okinawa with Inoue to meet her parents and Uryuu was leaving so much behind from his fashion show project he had called Inoue to help him.

Inoue sighed, stitching lace on the pretty dress with a needle.

"I know this is very boring job, but it needs to be done. I couldn't do it without your help", Uryuu apologized lifting his glasses from behind the sewing machine.

"No, no Ishida-kun, I like helping you out! It just… everything seems to go so bad…", Inoue muttered with pouted lips.

"I heard about Kurosaki's accident. Too bad", Ishida stated taking a look at Inoue's darkened face. "You must be worried, Inoue".

"I don't know if I'm worried. It's more like, well, I feel bad for him. Feels like all these bad things suddenly happening are my fault".

Uryuu laughed heartily.

"How on earth they could be your fault, Inoue? That's just nonsense. You're just worrying too much. Take it easy. I'm sure Kurosaki will be ok in no time".

Inoue nodded but didn't say anything. She was too occupied by her own thoughts. The lace seemed to go on and on and on, never shortening no matter how much Inoue stitched it.

"… Ishida-kun, do you think kissing a god is a bad thing?"

Ishida stopped the sewing.

"What?"

"I mean if you kiss a god, will it bring just bad luck? Maybe he gets upset from kisses?"

"… Inoue, I don't know what you're implying but I've never heard anyone of kissing a god. How that's even possible?"

"I mean as an offering!" Inoue defended herself.

"How do you offer a kiss to a god?" Ishida continued, wondering where Inoue had gotten such in idea.

"Well you just…just kiss him".

"HIM?"

Inoue was about to say something to Ishida to make him understand what she was telling, but she realized she had already probably said a way too much. She turned her attention back to the lace.

Ishida eyed his friend with concern.

"Have you had seizures lately?"

She shook her head fiercely.

"No, no I haven't. I got this new … therapist. He's been a great help".

"So now they're offering therapy to you?"

"Uhhuh. It seems that the seizures will be permanent so he's teaching me how to endure them and what to do when I get a stroke".

Some reason Ishida found it hard to believe what Inoue was saying. He didn't want to pry or be too nosy, but the concern of Inoue's well being weighted more than polite manners.

"So is this god, HIM, somehow connected to these seizures?"

Inoue laughed nervously.

"No, no, why do you ask?"

"…Never mind. Just remember Inoue, you have lots of friends who will help you. If there's anything you want to talk about, I'm listening", Ishida encouraged Inoue gently, returning to sewing.

She bit her lower lip, thinking.

"… So you don't think kissing a god is a bad thing…" Inoue muttered, though she wasn't supposed to do so. She winced noticing she had again spoken her thoughts out loud – to Ishida.

Ishida sighed, not taking his attention away from the sewing machine.

"I really don't know what you're saying Inoue, but let's pretend you offered a kiss to a god, who apparently was a male. This might sound rather lame coming from my mouth but I think kiss is a very sincere offer and most likely no god would be offended by it. So, whatever you're pondering in your head, let it go, Inoue. Nothing's your fault and everything is surely fine."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"No, you're not fine, Abarai-kun!"

Hinamori's angry eyes stared Renji with such intensity if the looks could kill, Renji would have been nothing but a carcass by this far. He paced back and forth in the barrack, hissing.

"I am fine".

"I'm not listening to those lies and you know that".

"I'm not lying".

"Renj Abarai, sit down!" Hinamori commanded pointing the floor with her finger. He paled, never seeing Hinamori being angry with him and hastily did as he was told. The small girl sat next to him, eyeing Renji with stern look.

"You know I hate lying. Just tell me what's eating you and I promise to leave you alone", Hinamori spoke very slowly. Admitting that he couldn't beat Hinamori in this Renji exhaled with beaten tone.

"I just…. I don't know anything about how to give good luck to humans".

"Good luck? But Renji, it's not our duty to take care of the luck issues. Other department does that", Hinamori spoke with widened eyes.

"I know I know, but she doesn't know it", Renji fidgeted.

"She? You mean the girl we both know?"

"Hmmm… She gave me this offering, wishing it would bring her and her loved ones good luck but damn Hinamori. I have no idea how it helps! I feel… fuck it feels like I'm betraying her in some level. I just take the offering and there's nothing I can give her back, nothing I can do to ensure the offering would indeed bring her luck". He took a long look away from Hinamori, staring the wall. "I don't know why it bothers me so much…"

"You could always tell to Luck Department about the offering. Take it there and the guys in the department will do their job", Hinamori tried.

Renji licked his lips.

"…I can't".

"Why not? Just take the offering to them and explain the situation. It's not too hard."

He licked his lips again, eyes darting.

"I don't have the offering she gave me".

"What?! You didn't take the offering?" Hinamori gasped.

The apple she had gave him had been forgotten in the living world when Renji had left Inoue's building, kicking few Hollow asses and accompanied one lost soul back to Soul Society after that. He hadn't opened the portal in Inoue's living room. He had just wanted to leave from her as soon as possible, not wanting her to see how weak he had become from the small kiss.

He really couldn't tell Hinamori he had forgotten the offering. He just couldn't.

"I did take it", he chuckled nervously.

"But…?"

"Hmmm", he hummed, not wanting to talk more. Hinamori's eye brows knit together, lips tightening.

"Abarai-san", she said with a tone Renji knew it wasn't any soft request. "What's with the offering you get, take it but can't pass it to the Luck Department?"

"She..:" he began, licking his lips more and searched for the right words. "… kissed me".

"She what?" Hinamori yelped, earning a loud shushing from Renji. She crept closer to him.

"She _kissed_ you?" she repeated not believing what Renji had said. His face's colour was matching with his hair.

Suddenly she burst in laughter, wiping her eyes.

"Poor Abarai", she laughed patting his wide, slumbered shoulder. "Our poor Abarai-kun got harassed by a human girl".

"It's not funny…", Renji muttered irritated. She shook her head but couldn't stop laughing.

"Abarai-kun, you were supposed just to check her out, not '_check her out'_", she continued giggling, making Renji even more embarrassed.

"It wasn't my fault. She just… stood there in that lacy top and took me off guards with her lips".

Hinamori stopped her giggling, inspecting Renji's face with shimmering eyes.

"I bet she looked really pretty. And I also bet her lips were very soft".

Soft. Indeed soft. Soft like a gentle autumn breeze over the clover field. Soft as the first touch of the loved one's fingertips. Soft as…-

"Did she look hot in that lacy top? Was she leaning towards you showing of her cleavage going 'Ah Sir, kiss me'?" Hinamori moaned creeping closer to Renji's face, trying to act as sexy as she could.

"Stop messing with my head!" Renji barked with deep red blush dancing on his cheek bones, pushing Hinamori further away. She laughed, settling closer and gave Renji a thigh hug.

"Oh Abarai-kun. You're so obvious it's so cute", she mumbled to his neck, smiling.

"I bet you already miss her".


	7. Kissed by God

"Uh! I think this is the last one!"

Inoue breathed out heavily, thin coat of sweat glimmering on her forehead. The yellow eyed woman smiled at her genuine smile and offered a glass of ice tea.

"You shouldn't let Kisuke make you carry those heavy boxes", she told to her watching how Inoue drank the ice tea with eager thirst.

"No, it's alright, I promised I could help", she assured Yoruichi standing before a tower of cardboard boxes. "You both are doing so much for me this is the least I can do".

"Kisuke should be carrying his own books", Yoruichi muttered measuring the box pile with her eyes.

"Ah dear, you're always so mean to me", Urahara's head popped out from the other room, soon his whole body following. Yoruichi waved her hand to her husband.

"Just don't make this a habit of yours, Kisuke. We have other girls who can help us. I'm sure Inoue-san has other things to on a Sunday afternoon than hanging around here, working".

Inoue smiled, not really knowing was the couple arguing or just talking to each others.

"Really, this is fine. I have learnt so much last weeks that I probably can't ever repay your kindness".

"You have been a good pupil, Inoue", Urahara grinned whirling the paper fan in his fingers and reached down to his pocket. "Thus I'm going to give you a little present. Here".

Inoue took the small, thin and very old looking notebook from Urahara's hand, opening it carefully. She scanned it through curiously.

"What is this?" she asked looking at the tiny letters. Urahara's trademark smirk rose up to his lips.

"Just something I got some years ago. I think you would appreciate it more than I. Give it a try before you go to sleep. If you don't like it, you can always return it to me".

"I… Thank you, thank you very much", she said bowing, pressing the notebook against her chest.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Don't thank him yet until you have read it through. If I can tell something about my husband it is that you can expect almost anything from him."

"Please love, I'm not that bad", Urahara replied trying to sound hurt.

"Don't you start that love thing with me", Yoruichi grinned back, elbowing Urahara. She turned her attention to Inoue. "Off you go now, until this rascal comes up with more work for you to do".

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sitting on her bed in a short silk pyjama Inoue read the book she had received. At first it didn't make any sense and Inoue had thought that maybe Urahara had given her more home work. The language was old Japanese and some of the kanjis looked like out of this world to her. Slowly, little by little, not wanting to give up, Inoue started to understand the story. It was a novel. Very old story, maybe a folk lore, telling a story of a woman who lived on earth and a man who walked in the realm on spirits.

The sound of her mobile phone ringing brought Inoue back to this world. She was surprised to see who the caller was.

"Good evening, Inoue-chan, and sorry about the late call. I hope you weren't sleeping already", Urahara's voice greeted her.

"No, it's just half past eight", she smiled.

"Ah that's good to hear, remember to sleep a lot so you can do well at school".

"I will".

"About the boxes you helped to carry. Did you see a loose book in the car? I haven't found the book. It had red cover with an outline of sword on it".

Inoue pondered, thinking hard.

"… I think I saw it. I placed it on the shelf with other books. I'm sorry if looking for it gave you any trouble, Urahara-san".

There was a small pause on the other side until pleased cheer was heard.

"Ah indeed, here it is! Thank you very much, Inoue dear". She heard how he smiled to her and she smiled back, though he wasn't able to see that.

"Glad to help you, Urahara-san".

"Oh, one thing, Inoue-chan", Urahara began and Inoue picked up something she hadn't heard ever in his voice. "I hope you're enjoying of the book."

"..I'm reading it right now…", she said voice stammering, looking at the spread book on her thighs.

"I'm sure it will be very entertaining for you".

"… I wish so. Thank you for giving it to me", she continued unsurely.

His voice was back to the laid back and cheerful one in a matter of a second.

"No need to thank me, it was a present", he almost chirped. Then his voice lowered down to a whisper "I have to go now, Yoruichi gets mad if I call to other girls".

She laughed at him, shaking her head with a wide smirk.

"We don't want to upset her".

"Not at all".

The phone call was over and sighing Inoue let the phone drop on the mattress. She inspected the book more, letting her sink into the story. Reading it carefully the small book started to paint a story of two lovers before Inoue's eyes. How a girl met a boy from another world, how they fell in love. How the girl died and went to the spirit world, where the boy was waiting for her – until it was time for the girl to be born again to the world of living.

Another phone call stopped Inoue's reading session. Picking the phone up she noticed how her eyes were moist.

"Inoue! How are you?"

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun!" she gasped, surprised.

The boy let out warm chuckle to the phone.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"

"No, I was just reading", Inoue stated hastily, pushing the book away from her hands and wiped her eyes, smiling. "How are you doing?"

"Better. The wrist is still sore but it's healing really fast".

Mentally Inoue cheered herself. She had wished really bad that the energy she could used to heal others – IF she practiced that is – would magically fly to Kurosaki and help him to recover. Apparently it had helped.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I felt bad when I got the news about your wrist. I.. kind of felt it was my fault.."

"Your fault? Inoue, how on earth that could be your fault?" the boy wondered out loud.

She remembered the red haired death god and the warmth of his mouth.

"I… I made an offering for a god to get more luck for all of us, but I think it went all wrong and just brought bad luck", Inoue stated whirling a circle on the bed sheet with her finger, blushing.

"You think the god didn't like the offering?" he almost laughed at her.

"Hmmm, I can't tell. At least he was surprised", Inoue stated staring into the distance with a gentle tone in her eyes.

"What?"

She snapped back to the reality from the day dreams by Ichigo's disbelieving voice. Clearing her throat Inoue took a hold of the phone with both hands.

"I mean, how's your family doing? Dad and sisters?" she changed the topic quickly.

"They're all good, thank you for asking. Man, I can't wait the summer break! Then I got to see all of them. And you, too".

Another wave of blush washed over Inoue's cheeks. She giggled a bit.

"The summer will be very nice time. I hope you can catch Ishida's fashion show entry! He has some amazing dresses made. I helped him with laces other day. Oh and I'm trying to go to visit mom and dad in Okinawa".

"Do you know the exact date for that yet?"

"No, but maybe in the middle of the summer break. I need to ask Tatsuki about it. She's coming with me, or at least tries to."

"How about Ishida's show?"

"Eh, I think it was 16th of July".

Ichigo hummed on the phone and in her mind Inoue was able to picture him scratching the back of his head. Something Ichigo did so often without noticing it.

"Guess we meet in a few months then?" he asked a bit awkwardly and made Inoue giggle again.

"I'm looking forward to it. Everyone is".

"Damn, I have to go. Yuzu is calling me", Ichigo apologized. Inoue hummed back to him.

"It's ok. Tell her I said hi".

They ended the phone call and Inoue felt something odd in her chest. Somewhere very deep, pulsing in her core. It took a moment to figure out what it was. It was like nothingness would have nested inside her. Odd emptiness that wasn't familiar thing to Inoue. She thought about Ichigo and how she would soon meet him. They would have whole summer time to catch up with each other while Ichigo staid in Karakura. Just a moment ago she would have been thrilled, jumping up and down in her apartment and counting the days to Ichigo's arrival. Now she was happy to be able to see Ichigo, but not happy in that way that she was used to be. Ichigo… felt like... "something usual". She was puzzled.

The small present book had slipped down from her legs and was lying closed on the mattress just next to her knee. Slowly Inoue took it into her hands and opened it up from a random page. The story of the book was bothering her, making her mind to be unsettled. She thought about the death god she had now met three times. He was walking somewhere there, in the realm of spirits. If she died, would he come to pick her up? Would she meet him more often then? What would happen when she was reborn back? Would she be able to see him again in that new life or would he be forever gone from her eyes?

Surprised by the tiny pearly tears forming in the corner of her eyes Inoue stood up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, smiling.

"Oh, I'm so silly", she sniffed bravely, opening the drawers slowly. Her hand found the lost bandanna on its own.

"So very, very silly…" she continued looking down the white fabric in her hands, caressing the surface with a thump. "Here I am, crying after someone who doesn't even know me, abandoning the love I used to know", Inoue mumbled, hiccupping. She lifted the bandanna up to her face, inhaling the foreign scent the fabric still had on it. It felt so familiar and yet so unknown to her.

Walking back to the bed she tossed the note book down to the floor, not wanting to read any longer. She was sure she would howl like a wolf if she even thought about something sentimental – and yet there she sat, playing with the white bandanna, remembering every single second of every single meeting with the odd man.

The door frame of her bedroom cracked slightly open and unexpected sight greeted Inoue's aching eyes.

"…You..!"

A puzzled looking death god stood in the door frame, brushing his finger through his long red ponytail, looking like being lost.

"… I have something for you", he murmured trying to come up with something wiser to say, but then he noticed something disturbing. "… Are you crying?"

Hastily Inoue dried her tears, pulling her legs up to her chest. "No, ah it's nothing. I was just reading something sad and it caught me. A bit silly", she smiled shyly.

Renji didn't like it when it when women cried, no matter what the reason. Taught to be a gentleman by many female friends and his natural polite personality he always felt it was his responsibility to cheer the woman up.

He noticed the white ex-accessory of his in Inoue's hands.

"My bandanna…" he stated pointing it. Inoue's eyes widened.

"This… this is a good hand chief, see", she stammered loudly, trying to dry her almost dry eyes with the fabric, feeling herself like a complete idiot. She didn't want him to know she had been caressing something that was originally his.

Renji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had never understood why women wanted to keep things with themselves instead of speaking about them. In this care Renji reasoned the girl didn't want to open her heart up to a strange man, who had just come inside the house without permission, invading her bedroom. He stepped closer and didn't listen to any of Inoue's shocked protests as his rear end landed on the edge of her bed.

"I won't be staying long, it would be rude", he began, tucking his hand down to his kimono. A small item appeared between his fingers. Inoue stared at it with round eyes.

"It's so… so shiny", she spoke with amazement, receiving a piece of paper with a little jingle bell hanging from the end of it.

"That's an omamori from the spirit world. For … the offering", Renji hesitated a bit before continuing, "the spell will keep you save and the jingle bell will catch the attention of the nearest death god. Death god eyes will always be following your steps. Good luck, you know…"

"It's… it's so pretty. This is so much, thank you…" Inoue babbled, near tearing again. Her own guardian spirit would be a death god. She liked the idea.

"I thought that I just caused bad luck to everyone…"

He simply couldn't miss that tone of the voice. "Bad luck?"

Inoue nodded slightly, squeezing the omamori between her palms, near her bosom.

"Everything went to bad here despite the offering. My friend hurt his wrist, my other friend got really busy, my third friend was even busier with his projects… Oh, I felt so stupid".

Renji felt the sting of guilt piercing his chest and he winced, corner of the lips twitching. He inspected the fragile looking girl curled up to the sitting position next to him. Her eyes looked sad, like begging forgiveness from invisible source. He broke the silence with a small cough.

"Well I can inform you that those two things aren't related. It was only a coincidence. This is your good luck charm. It took a little while to get the good luck vibe started. Sorry about that."

Inoue turned her head towards the death god, eyeing his acute face. His hand was resting just next to her, pressed against the mattress.

"I thought the good luck would kick in immediately after the offering", Inoue mumbled looking for a specific answer from Renji's face. He caught her eyes with his.

"Unfortunately it doesn't work that way."

"Hmm, I see", she sighed and whirled the omamori amulet between her fingers. The jingle bell made a faint sound.

"This will catch the attention of the death god", Inoue muttered quietly and took then a shy look from under her fallen bangs to Renji. "Will this call you out then, catch your attention?"

"I-If I'm nearby I'll hear the bell, but it's not actually my job to be in Karakura", he admitted. The look on Inoue's face was pure disappointment, though she did her best to hide her emotions. Instead she exhaled loudly, head pressing lower.

"Ah, too bad. An own death god guardian would have been such a good thing. Not even this omamori can make it happen. Not… that much luck in it".

He listened carefully her lowing tone, staying completely still.

"I was so sure everything was my fault", she admitted, thinking, battling against her tears but failing miserably.

"You have the amulet now", Renji encouraged the weeping girl, carefully avoiding the topic of offerings. She smelled as nice as he remembered her smelling.

"I don't know if this enough to replace the damage, if this has enough luck in it", Inoue said with a sob, casting her eyes down the tiny paper with the bell. She knew that the death god had said that the bad luck after the offering was just a coincidence, but Inoue had hard time believing it. She had always known to be the clumsy girl with weird taste of food and hallucinations. She caused so much trouble to others already with her seizures, with her condition, and she had done that for such a long time. When she finally wanted to settle everything, to pay the kindness of her friends with a right offering, she would choose wrong and no matter what others said to her, she felt responsible for the outcome. She didn't even know would the luck of the just gotten omamori reach her friends and help them now.

Oh she wanted to disappear. Disappear on this instant.

A warm and firm feeling on her chin forced Inoue to lift up her fallen face to the direction of the death god. With a one, gentle move his mouth was greeting her yet again, lips pressing together slowly and softly. She was taken back by the kiss she didn't see coming, blood rushing all the way up to her ears when the man tilted his head to get a better access, down till her tongue. He hummed, the low voice drumming in Inoue's ear with the beat of her skipping heart. His lips were provoking her to open up her mouth more. Inoue didn't remember sharing such intense kiss with anyone before. It made the flesh between her thighs to throb.

With trembling fingers she looked for his hand that rested next to her, finding it blind folded. His skin felt warm under her touch and so real she couldn't believe how anyone would have ever made her believe this man was nothing but a delusion made by her own imagination.

Renji broke the kiss, feeling a need for air. The young woman's bright red face was a delightful sight and Renji had to give her a credit to make his head spin. He chuckled at the dazed Inoue.

"There, that will increase your luck", he whispered, his voice sounding a bit too husky in Inoue's ears. She blushed more, noticing how her hand rested atop of his palm.

"Yo—you think so?" she was able to ask shyly, wondering if the man could hear her heart beat through her skin.

"Kissed by a god. If that doesn't sound like good luck magnet then I don't know what will", his grin spread from ear to ear, head tilting a bit forward to her. Inoue wondered if he begged for another kiss.

"It does sound like a blessing", Inoue breathed out with a smile, looking both of his half closed eyes. "Do you think gods get good luck, too?"

"…By human kisses?" he asked, receiving a hummed nod.

"I can't say... Hopefully we do".

"You eh… want to try again…?" Inoue managed to ask by summoning up all her courage. She watched as Renji's eyes widened. The slightly shocked look was soon replaced by mischievous grin.

"I'm always up for the second round", Renji stated not even wanting to feel embarrassed by it. His grinning mouth was touched by a giggling one before they melted together into another deep kiss. This time Inoue found courage also to wrap her arms around his neck, turning her whole body to face him. She stood up to her knees and pressed his head closer to her body, kissing his uplifted lips. Renji wasn't sure would his neck handle the position for long but he really wouldn't start to complain about it when being kissed and cradled against inviting bosom. Her hair fell down to his cheek, tickling.

Inoue's heart beat like she would die any minute, the speed increasing when Renji placed his palms on her waist. The thin outfit let Inoue feel how hot his hands felt. She shuttered, giving him a muffled moan. She noticed how his fingers twitched.

Renji would have been pleased just with a little peck after already being kissed not once but twice by this human woman, but when he heard her suppressed light groan he didn't regret the third time at all. He would have loved to answer that call with a low growl, but not wanting to scare the woman he broke the kiss, gently but firmly. Any more close cuddling like this and the girl would wish she would have let him die on the living room's carpet on that fateful night. .. Well, maybe not die but leave a few scars at least. After all Renji was a gentleman.

She gave him dreamy look surrounded by the blushed face and a bit messed orange locks and he smiled back, easing her hands from his neck.

"I think it's my time to go, before anyone comes looking for me", he said whispering. He noticed how dry his throat was.

The girl smiled back at him, brushing his temple with a light touch.

"Thank you for the omamori. I wish I can bring you some good luck, too".

"I think I can bet on it", Renji smirked.

"Before you go", she said sitting down and letting the man stood up from her hold. "I'm Inoue Orihime".

He turned to look at her from the door frame, smiling with his narrow, dark framed eyes.

"And I'm Abarai Renji".


	8. Medical issues

**NiuNiu Note:** Just wanting to thank every single one of you for the reviews! ;u; Here, have cupcakes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The summer arrived faster than Inoue had ever imagined and she had had hard time keeping up with her studies and helping Uryuu out with his designs. Her trip to Okinawa had been booked with Tatsuki, who promised to stay a week in Okinawa. Inoue had planned to spend her whole summer at her parents, but the nearer the exact travelling day became, the more restless she felt for that. Two weeks, max, she had decided. The remaining two weeks she could stay at her own home reading some of the new books Urahara had given her. She was kind of interested in exorcism and spiritual cleansing, now that she had learnt quite a lot of the spirit world, but not wanting to scare her mom Inoue had left all of her new studying books back home.

She had also left back the omamori given by the god named Renji Abarai, not wanting it to get lost. Before sealing in into a small velvety box Inoue had prayed that the good luck would follow her to the other side of Japan and that the local death god would look after her. Silently she wondered if the red haired death god had a region of his own to guard.

Inoue was still able to taste his lips on her owns.

"Argh, Inoue!"

Tatsuki's moaning voice got Inoue's attention. She sat next to her on the beach towel in a sporty swimsuit, frowning.

"Ah sorry Tatsuki-chan! Did you say something?"

"I've been babbling here for five minutes alone while you spaced, Inoue", she gnawed her lower lip inspecting Inoue from head to toe before adding. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, don't worry. It's not a seizure. I haven't had them in months", Inoue assured her friend looking into the distance towards the sea. She couldn't count the meetings with the man as seizures, though she really wanted to tell Tatsuki about him.

"Tell me right away if you start feeling odd", Tatsuki commanded Inoue with stern voice. Inoue nodded knowing that Tatsuki probably knew that something was different, but being a good friend as Tatsuki was, she didn't want to pry.

"I promise, you'll be the first one to know. I just… kind of miss leaving my omamori behind", she admitted drawing a perfect circle on the sand with her finger.

Tatsuki's thin eye brow cocked.

"Omamori? But we can go and buy you an omamori if it makes you feel better".

"Nuh-uh, it's okay. I can survive without a one", she replied softly, still drawing circles on the smooth sand.

"…Inoue, are you blushing?"

"Ah, it sure is hot!" Inoue bounced up to her feet, stretching. "Mom and dad really didn't lie about the climate. Come on, let's run to the sea!"

Tatsuki watched how her long time friend ran into the ocean screaming "eek, eek!" and acting like her own self. Yet she couldn't say what had changed in Inoue, but there definitely was something in her that was out of place. Maybe she had just forgotten how Inoue used to be before the seizures started…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The couch forth was perhaps the best they have ever made together, despite the fact they used to build them a lot in Inoue's house. Her parents' house was full of blankets, duvets, pillows, couch pillows and other perfect forth material at disposal, with different patterns and colors. The window was left open and the girls lied on their stomach in the soft fortress after the parents had hit the bed. A plate of homemade cookies was placed on the floor with a tall bottle of homemade juice. Tatsuki ate her cookie with great delighted face.

"These are so good! Your mom is the best baker ever", she praised the little chocolaty treasure in her hand, earning a giggle from Inoue.

"Too bad I didn't inherit mom's baking skills", she laughed at the tiny cookie, thinking how nice it would be to bake chocolate chip cookies to the death god next time he would visit her. IF he visited her again, that is.

Tatsuki couldn't miss the disappointed look on Inoue's face, not even in the dim living room light.

"I think your cookies are good, too", she hastily added crumbles of cookie on her lips and earned a short laugh from Inoue.

"Thank you", Inoue simply replied and stuffed the cookie in her mouth.

They ate in silence, Inoue being lost in her thoughts. She really hadn't paid any thought to it but what if the death god wouldn't return, ever again. It wasn't his job to hang in Karakura, like he had said it himself. He would miss all the good parts if he didn't come back ever again: the fireworks on December when the air was a bit chilly drawing small moist clouds in the air when breathing, the opening of the ice cream bar near Inoue's house that was said to open on August, her fresh made cookies and orange juice with cream topping… Small joyful moment here and there. Sound of the kids playing outside or dogs barking in the distance. The slight trembling of fingers entwining between each others, looking for comfort.

But what he would definitely miss was the fact just how much Inoue would miss him if he never returned.

"Inoue-chan… You look so sad. Is everything alright?"

Tatsuki's voice was soft and warm, so very unlike to her. Inoue put up the bravest face she ever was able to summon up, grinning cutely.

"Tatsuki-chan, I told you not to worry about me".

"Is it some boy?" Tatsuki asked suddenly, rising up to her hands and knees. "Because if it's some idiot whose making you feel sad I'm going to kick that sorry little ass with my gold winner karate punches so bad…!"

"Ahaahah, no, no, please, keep your karate moves to yourself", Inoue assured furious looking Tatsuki, who seemingly struggled between whether to believe Inoue or not. She saw through it and sighed,

"I promise Tatsuki, if I'm in trouble, in any kind of a trouble, I will let you know for the first".

That eased Tatsuki and she lowered her body back to the futon, though the sceptical look staid in her narrowed eyes. Inoue ruffled her hair, earning a high "hey!" yelp from her friend.

"I promise, Tatsuki. You'll be the first to know".

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Sleepless nights, chest aches, difficulties to breath, heart problems, lack of concentration…_

Captain Unohana stared the finely hand written symptom list in her possession and lifted her eyes up to her patience.

"The nurses have run all the tests but we haven't been able to detect any illnesses. I'd say you're perfectly healthy, Abarai-san".

Renji sat on the simple hospital bed upper body exposed, rubbing still the annoyingly tingling spot under the plaster which was glued over his arm after the blood tests.

"If you say so…" was the only thing he could come up with.

"I have to admit that chest ache and breathing problems do sound serious, both separately but especially together", Unohana continued flipping the papers, looking for something Renji had no idea of. "Are these the only symptoms? Have we missed something?"

"Tho—those are the only ones", he muttered trying to scratch the small spot through the plaster.

"Hmmm, I see…" she replied eyes never leaving her papers. The silence filled the room.

Hinamori had begged, begged him to go to the doctor after he had started to show symptoms of health issues. He did his best to hide them from others, blaming the lack of sleep or too straining training sessions as the cause of them, but Hinamori had damn good eyes. The final straw had been the evening when Hinamori had given her 12th back rub to Renji (from the promised 100 ones, which probably meant she was going to massage him till the day she or he died). She had sat on his back, like always, focusing all her might to his shoulder blades, when he had felt odd sting in his chest, accompanied with a following gag. He had needed to ask Hinamori to get away from his back, saying he had hard time to breath. Renji still remembered how shocked Hinamori had looked while staring at his paling face, his chest feeling like burning, lips gasping for air.

But, like said, no problem was found from his body. Everything worked as it should.

"Hmmm, hmmm… It says that you started to feel ill about a month ago".

"Yeah, something like that".

"Something like that? Does that mean they have lasted for longer or for shorter?"

Renji looked at Unohana's cocked eyebrow, her soft round eyes inspecting Renji with such intensity he was sure she could see through his soul.

"I ah… I can't say for sure…"

"I see. Could you describe me again the last situation where you had either heart or breathing problems? Tell me everything, every single detail. It's important, Abarai-san".

The hospital bed let out a sad sounding cracking noise when Renji shifted his weight, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh geez, I need to think. I feel that they are occurring more and more often nowadays, not really happening in certain times", he murmured casting his eyes down to his legs. "Feels like… they are there constantly".

"Are you feeling any of those described symptoms at this moment?" Unohana asked, letting her hand drop down to her side with the papers.

Renji listened to his body, like it could talk to him, not moving.

"… Yeah, kind of. I mean, I feel kind of restless. Like I couldn't sleep or eat or—"

"Eat? Is there also lack of appetite?" the captain inquired lifting the papers back under her nose, going through them curiously.

"I have to admit I haven't had any mood for eating. The food's like… tasteless", he said sighing. "I don't know how to else to describe it. I just don't feel like eating".

"There might be lack of specific vitamins - or blockages in the natural life energy's flow, but if that's the case I would want to know what causes it", Unohana spoke very matter-of-factly, taking another look at Renji. This time her eyes remained on him.

"Tell me more about the chest pains".

"It's here", Renji said pointing the centre of his chest with his index finger. "It feels like someone would squeeze my heart, like there would be empty gab in the chest". He demonstrated the squeezing with his palm.

Unohana nodded towards Renji "And the breathing issue?"

"It happens usually with the chest ache."

Unohana tapped the files with her thump, thinking. Renji was getting very worried. If Unohana could not find out what was wrong with him maybe it really was something serious, fatal even. Maybe they would send him to Mayuri which Renji prayed never ever to happen...

"My conclusion is that because there's no physical reason for the blockage in the energy, it must be mental."

"Mental?" Renji nearly shouted, making Unohana smile and wave her hands calmly.

"Now, now, I don't think this is serious psychological issue", she said motherly, "When I look at these symptoms of yours, Abarai-san, and your description of them, combined with the fact your body is totally fine, this all sounds actually very usual".

"Usual? You mean you have encountered something like this before?" Renji asked with a curious tone, his dark framed eyes widening a bit with hope.

Unohana's facial expression was caring and the softest Renji had ever seen.

"The diagnose is rather simple: I think Abarai-san is suffering of high stress".

"Stress..." he repeated her words, thinking. He thought he had already won most of the reasons causing stress to normal people with his past in the streets. With his background it would be easy to avoid stress with the strong will, which he had.

"Any stress factors in your life currently you could point out?" Unohaha continued.

"I ah, I don't think so..." he muttered.

"Problems at work? Too many demands from the captain? Too much working out without rest? Difficulties with co-workers?" Unohana listed the common reasons for stressful life. He shook his head.

"No, nothing".

"Problems with women?"

His eyes widened in a surprised and he lifted his chin to see the captain better. She was still smiling at him.

"Problems with women?" he repeated Unohana's exact words with a slow pace, his voice getting lower every passing word.

"I know many of the Seireitei girls have their eyes on lieutenant Abarai", Unohana simply noted. Her smiling gaze locked upon Renji. "Anyone special in your mind, messing up with your head and health, causing unneeded tension, Abarai-san?"

A huge tidal wave of blood rushed up to Renji's face, covering his skin with red color. His facial expression, an interesting mixture both shock and embarrassment, made Unohana laugh out – which caused Renji to blush even more.

"I—I don't know what… That isn't the case-", he stammered with a hurt shaking voice, eyes darting back and forth. He scratched the skin through the plaster nervously.

"Oh, I see. I understand that this is a very private matter and thus I'm not going to ask any details", she soothed the bright red lieutenant before her, secretly amused the fact that some girl had wrapped their good old Abarai into her possession.

"You may leave. If your condition goes to worse, come to see me. We have to make sure that this really is just emotional based instead of bacteria, virus or anything similar."

Renji jumped down from the bed, murmuring his thanks and dressed himself with hurry. While pushing by Unohana he felt how her palm landing onto his shoulder seized him.

"Don't worry. Meetings with doctor are always confidential", she spoke with closed, smiling eyes.

He couldn't come up with anything but a low hum from his throat.

"Make sure you let your mind ease up, use whatever method you see for the best for that; except heavy training or heavy drinking".

Calmly she let Renji go after the instructions, following the turned back that soon disappeared back to the hallway. Unohana couldn't help the faint smile that crept up to her thin lips when she thought about the recent events.

This was definitely something new.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Renji sat on the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse near the central district on Seireitei, leaning his forehead against his arms which rested on the uplifted knees. He listened to the silence and the faint, far away noises surrounding him and groaned out loud.

How he had let himself come to this? How the hell it had even happened in the first place? Blaming himself made Renji feel miserable but blaming the girl was unfair. They really hadn't gone to pursuing each others intentionally, but everything to this exact moment had just happened on their own. Renji never let things 'just to happen to him'. He hated when he couldn't predict the outcomes, hated when he felt that he wasn't in charge but someone or something controlled him. It reminded Renji too much of his childhood and the helplessness he had been too familiar with.

Soft presence landed next to him.

"Abarai-kun…"

He groaned but didn't move.

"Leave me alone".

"You don't mean that, otherwise you would have disappeared somewhere where I couldn't find you even if I tried", Hinamori ensured him, sitting on the ceramic roof. She was greeted with a muffled growl.

"Were the news of Unohana-san that bad?" she asked with scared undertone, touching his shoulder.

"I'll live", Renji answered shortly, seemingly annoyed.

"What was the diagnosis?"

His head shot up with a snort and a ragged chuckle escaped from his lips.

"Something so ridiculous I'm doing my best here to forget it and get rid off it for good".

"Come on, you're teasing me with your avoidance! Tell me. I promise to keep it as a secret – and not laugh no matter what the diagnosis would be", she hastily added.

Renji sighed and let his head sank back down to his arms. He turned his face away from Hinamori.

"There's nothing I can say to you. You already know", he exhaled sounding rather miserable and beaten.

She was silent for a second, until a long and knowing "oooh" was heard from Hinamori.

"I am not supposed to fell in love, at least not with a human. You know I have never been any boyfriend material. I have other more important things to do", Renji spoke truthfully, keeping his head turned away. His closed eyes ached and the feeling in his chest was killing him.

"There just are things that happen without any specific explanation. I think it's perhaps life's way of showing us around, making us feel uncomfortable in new surroundings. That way we learn new things", she spoke with a thought but when Renji didn't budge or reply, Hinamori continued: "I see nothing wrong in love".

"This romantic love nonsense doesn't suite me", Renji muttered trying to push the image of Inoue away from his head, failing. She stood there smiling with gentle looking face and her deep kiss still burnt Renji's tip of the tongue. He shuttered.

"Hmmm, falling in love and being in love isn't easy. You have to face something that can scare you – your own self. Your fears, your worries, your expectations that might or might not come true. Opening up your innermost soul can be frightening", Hinamori admitted.

Renji knew the tone. She was talking about Aizen.

"…I'm not afraid…" he denied. Hinamori didn't believe a single word, but she wasn't going to tease Abarai more. He already looked so sad.

"Yeah, I know. You're a brave man".

No. He wasn't. He was the old street thug, low life dog that ran away when a woman showed any interest in him. He didn't want to have his heart to be broken. He wasn't even sure would he make a good partner to someone. Avoidance was the best tactic, it had always been – if you didn't count occasional tender moments which in the end meant nothing more than a physical touch – but in this case it simply didn't work. The further Renji ran, the stronger the orange haired human woman pulled him back.

He stood up with heavy sigh, his tall form making Momo to look very tiny while she sat in his feet. If Renji really wanted some time alone she wasn't going to stop him, hence she remained still.

"I'm going to sleep", Renji informed Hinamori casually despite his bad mood. She hummed with a nod, hugging her knees.

"Don't worry about me, Momo".

The petite death good lifted her gaze up to his wide back.

"I won't."

"…Or course you will, but I forbid you for doing so".

"Bossing me around, are we, Abarai-kun?"

Faint smirk washed over his face.

"Don't make me grin, I try to brood here". He sensed how Momo smiled behind her.

"Go to sleep. It's healthier than moodiness. Actually I should demand that you go to sleep instead of brooding"

"…Bossing me around, are we, Hinamori-chan?"

"Please Abarai-kun, you make my demands sound worthless if you make me grin with your words".

He finally turned around and without hesitation offered his hand to Hinamori, who took it and let Renji to pull her up to her feet.

"I'll go to bed", he promised cupping Hinamori's palm into his hand, slowly inspecting her fingers with his thumps. "Just saying that being in love sucks ass".

"I know it can do that but you're brooding before the thing has even started", she spoke sisterly. "Though I have no idea what you two have already done together".

Blush rose up to Renji's face, just under his narrow eyes.

"No—Nothing like that", he muttered sounding embarrassed and his sudden change in expression made Hinamori giggle.

"You know you can always tell me anything you want. Abarai-kun, but I doubt I would like to know about all of your adventures in the Living World".

"I'm not that bad", he defended himself with hurt look in his face, keeping his eyes cast down to Momoäs fingers.

"I know, I know. Just teasing you a bit", Hinamori waved her free hand. "Just go to sleep, at least try to sleep, and wait for better tomorrow. Felling in love isn't such death serious matter. I think you're only shy and thus unsure".

"Am not!" Renji's hastily barked reply didn't hide his true nature.

Hinamori sighed with closed eyelids.

"I know, I know; you're a brave man".


	9. Sake is good for your soul

NiuNiu Note: Sorry for the very, very long hiatus! I was stuck with this story, but now I know how to continue and the inspiration is back! Please, look forward to see the rest of the story in the upcoming weeks!

…...

In the end Renji didn't go to see the orange haired girl his heart ached for. He lied to Hinamori about the matter at first, but when she wanted to know more about her he asked politely Hinamori to stop her prying. "I tell you later, I need some time with this all", he had said to her a bit shocked face. Thank god Hinamori had a good heart and she quickly understood where the line between friendly questions and pestering prying stood. Thank god Renji was a person who wanted to keep his private things private, so it didn't seem too odd why he wanted to remain silent about the human girl. Not that the matter would have been something he would have been able to talk out loud freely. It was a taboo.

He didn't even bother to count the days which passed by since the last time they had met. He did wonder however had the little omamori given her some luck.

"..Rather shitty luck", he murmured himself. A mental image of her crying after him tried to sneak into his mind but Renji was able to push it away – but only when he was awake. At nights dreams of sad human girl crying his name bonbarded his soul, paiting it with burning guilt. And yet, Renji did nothing. He ignored everything. He was quite good at it, a skill he had never been proud of.

How was his health? Same as usual, but he had learnt to push the odd feelings back. It took a toll on him, as for the last few weeks people around him had been asking if he was alright, if he hadn't slept well or if he was ill. Renji always smiled at them, waving his hand and coming up with an excuse after an excuse; indeed badly slept night, hangover, lack of vitamins, hunger, illness, headache, hard trainings ect.

But what people mostly noted about Renji was the fact that his smile had grew more and more dull, until it disappeared almost completely behind the faked grins.

Rukia was first to notice something was wrong with Renji. He had avoided the issue as well as he was able to and feeling like she shouldn't tease him Rukia had let the matter drop. But it had gone on for too long and seemingly depressed Renji was something Rukia couldn't ignore – not even when he insisted her to leave him alone, as he was "fine".

So, she was standing yet again in his room at the late evening when others were sleeping, arms crossed, a frown on her tiny round face. Renji sat in front of her, tiny table before him having a small bottle of sake which he sipped slowly, tired and swollen eyes fixating on one spot.

"I said I'm fine, just lack of sleep, it's so damn hot during summer time", he croaked between his gulps.

"Renji, I have bought that lie for too many times. It won't work anymore", she informed him stearnly.

"What do you want from me..?", he managed to ask after the silence in the room had lasted too long and when Rukia's presence became too heavy to bear.

"The truth, nothing more, nothing less".

"How it will help you?"

"It's not about me but you, Renji. Trust me, you don't want to start this with me".

He knew. He didn't want to argue with Rukia. He always lost those arguments whenever they had them.

"Listen, Renji... I'm not asking you to tell me everything with every single tiniest detail you can come up with. I just want to know what's eating you so badly you will end up looking like a Hollow soon if nothing changes".

She came down to Renji's level, touching his slumpered shoulder.

"We grew up together. We have always been together. You can tell me anything", she assured him with a soft voice.

He kept his eyes on the sake bottle.

"...I think I have heart aches", Renji managed to mutter with a quiet voice.

"Are you sick?" Rukia blinked with a paling face. "If you are we need to take you to Unohan-"

"No, not that kind of heart aches", he admitted with embarrassed tone, slight tint of red creeping on his acute face.

It took a little while from Rukia to get the hint, but when she did, a reliefed huge smile appeared on his thin lips.

"Ah Renji, that's good news! Phew, I was so worried it would be something fatal". Suddenly her face darkened. "I mean it's not a good thing to have problems in love, don't get me wrong."

"I won't".

"Please, tell me more. Is she a good woman? Do I know her? Has she done something to make you feel so sad? Isn't it working out?"

Rukia's flood of questions made Renji chuckle. He lifted his head up and for the first time since Rukia came to see him Renji took a look at her.

"Wow, wow, slow down, that's too many questions", Renji chuckled. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you everything. It has... well, I don't want you to get in trouble, too".

Rukia's dark eyes widened in surprise.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Nah, never mind. Did you want to know about the woman? She's pretty and young. Has long orange hair and she seems to like dancing alone. She's a kind woman", Renji explained with soft looks in his narrow eyes.

"Do I know her?"

"No, she's not from around here".

"Where is she from?"

"Eh.. quite far away...", Renji muttered scratching his head. "We can't see often because of that".

"You said she's young. How young is she?"

"Eh, what's with these question? I guess she's around 17 or 18..?"

Suddenly, without a warning, Rukia jumped up from the sitting position.

"Damnit Abarai, is it that human girl we saw when you crashed into her apartment?! The one who treated your wounds?!" she nearly howled. Renji's face turned as pale as just washed sheet.

"Shhh Rukia, don't yell!"

"So it is her, oh my god Renji! You know what the laws say about meddling with humans", Rukia dropped on her fours and crept to Renji, hissing the words from between her gritted teeth. "You mess with her the wrong way and they can expell you from your position, is that what you want?"

"Don't you think I haven't been thinking about that", Renji hissed back angrily. "For fuck's sake, that's all I have been thinking. Losing my job versus falling in love, and the goddamn goddess of love is winning the battle and I can't lose! Losing is not an option!"

He sighed deeply after the little outburts and turned his head away from Rukia.

"I either lose my job or lose her and right now I really can't tell which one I'd rather give up with... I've worked so hard to get this far and this job is my pride and joy, yet I can't get away from that damn human woman. How pathetic is that, Rukia?"

His voice was full of dark sadness and he remained still, avoiding Rukia's gaze. Rukia sat down on the floor, looking at her friend's wide back.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"It's been a long time already", he replied shortly.

"Does she know what you are?"

"Yes, though she doesn't know I'm a vice captain. She can see us all. The other humans had told her that she was sick somehow when she was able to see us and the hollows. She... she was afraid."

Rukia heard how warmly Renji spoke about the human woman she had once seen, too.

"I take that you haven't talked about our rules or about this whole matter with her".

"No. I was a coward. The same way I was with you back then".

"But you came back to me. I'm sure you can do it for her, too".

Renji's shoulders sunk even lower but his voice had a small tone of hope.

"I... I guess you are right. It's unfair for her, too, this silence I keep up".

…...

Her apartment looked odd, not like it used to the last time Renji was standing in the living room. The furnitures were wrong, the plants weren't the cute flowers he had crushed with his first visit and there was no comedy show running in the tv. The air didn't hold the lingering scent of vanilla and strawberries. It didn't took long from Renji to undrstand that she wasn't here anymore. This apartment belonged to someone else, who apparently liked to read about fishing, had a dog and whom the vanilla-strawberry scented bubble bath wouldn't have fitten even when tried.

Renji stepped outside from the living room and stood in disbelieve on the balcony. How had this happened? Just how long he had staid in Seireitei without moving a muscle towards the Living World? Had... had something bad happened to Inoue while he was gone?

Knowing only one source for the information Renji headed towards The Original Lollipop. During day time the place looked quiet, almost like nothing ever happened in it. The owner stood before the front door and Renji felt like he would have been anticipating him to arrive soon. The owner greeted him with a small tip of his striped hat when Renji landed in front of him quietly.

"Such an unexpected visitor. May I ask what brings you here this time?" Urahara inquered.

"I need to find someone and I have a feeling you would know something about the matter", Renji replied.

Amused smirk rose up to Urahara's lips. "What makes you think so?"

"I trust my gut feelings".

"Why don't you use that Death God scope of yours, hmm? I bet it's still working".

Renji's fingers curled into a shaking fist.

"I...I haven't been feeling well lately. As I have to tone down my energy levels in order not to cause any commotion, I don't currently have enough energy to scope a human being I have no idea even where to start looking for her", he spoke with tightened lips, keeping his gaze fixated on the dusty ground.

The man before Renji show no specific emotion for the explanation, but snatched a fan from his jacket and opened it grandiloguently.

"Come inside", Urahara said shortly turning his back to Renji, his pale blue fan lifted up to cover his mouth. "I assume a man like you understands the simple pleasures of warm sake around the chill morning of November".

Renji wanted to say he didn't have time for sake, as he couldn't stay for long in Karakura, but when he was in the territory of that man, Renji knew it would be the best to follow the older man's quirks. So he followed Urahara with a nod, inside the quiet room. A few sleepy looking girls wandered around the hallways and Urahara greeted all of them with polite words and warm smiles: "You worked really hard, thank you for your hard work", "You should go to sleep already", "Yoruichi was very pleased to see how you handled your first customers, keep up the good work". They pushed pass Abarai without any hint of ever sensing an extra being in the same space.

Urahara walked him to the bar's side of the house, which was a lot bigger from the inside what the interior looked like. The dim light painted the shelves of alcohol slightly pink and green. He gestured Renji to sit on the stool while Urahara himself looked for the sake bottle.

"Let me hear what troubles you, young Lieutanant", Urahara spoke softly above the clings and clangs of the bottles.

"..A-As I said I'm looking for a someone. She wasn't living in the same apartment anymore", Renji tottered.

"Oh my, my best sake set isn't here. Excuse me", Urahara smiled brushing pass Renji. Renji's eyes followed his green haori.

"Inoue-chan! Could you bring me the sake set from the living room's cupboard, the one with the cranes?" Urahara's voice echoed into the second hallway leading to private areas. Renji's eyes widened.

"..Inoue?"

"Yes, Kisuke-sensei, I'll be right there!"

Renji jumped down from his stool, standing glued on the one spot with lips parted, eyes size of two plates. That voice..! His lower lip quivered when running steps came closer and closer the open doorway, until a familiar flow of orange hair popped into the bar area.

"Here, Kisuke-sense! Is this the right set?" soft chirpy voice asked.

"Yes, thank you Inoue darling. There's someone here who came to see you", Urahara smiled to her, taking the sake set and stepping aside.

Her beautiful eyes looked at Renji in disbeliev and shock, like she would have seen a ghost. Slowly Inoue's hands rose up to her mouth.

"Abarai-san..", she gasped and before Renji could answer back Inoue buried her face into her hands and started sobbing. Her shoulders trembled and it sounded like she wanted to talk between the weeps, but couldn't form a word.

"Inoue-chan has been very worried of you, Abarai-san", Urahara spoke directly to Renji. "You should at least say something."

"I—I'm sorry, Inoue. I have been selfish", he admitted.

Inoue shook her head and gulped down a sob.

"I'm so happy you are alright. It's been almost two years since we last met. I was worried something bad had happened to you", she hiccupped wiping her moist eyes with the back of her hands.

"Two..two years?" Renji paled. He knew the time flowed differently in Karakura and Seireitei, but he had been so occupied with his own worries he hadn't even realized how long it had been for Inoue. He felt ashamed. Ashamed and angry with himself. He wanted to punch himself in the guts.

"I think we all need to talk about this, seriously, like grown ups and Death Gods and friends gathering around good, warm sake", Urahara suggested warmly and squeezed Inoue under his arm. "Let's go to the living room. Abarai-san, could you take the sake bottle with you?"


	10. Natural Way

**NiuNiu Note: **This chapter is shorter one, as with the upcoming events it would have gotten a wayyyyy to long for my comfort.

Next chapter 11 is M-rated. (NOT this one!) 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"My, my, you young ones have gotten yourself into a quite big mess, especially you, Orihime-chan", Urahara spoke sighing and scratched slowly his chin. "But we need to be honest with it all here. Otherwise I can't help you".

"You will help us?", Renji cocked his eye brow at Urahara. Inoue took a look at Renji who sat next to her on the tatami floor and smiled happily, eyes tired from the tears she had shed for 10 minutes until calming down.

"Now, now, don't get me wrong. I'll help you if I can. There are quite big matters affecting this whole situation of yours I'm afraid, but let's start from the basics to see just where do we all stand, yes?"

Inoue didn't follow Urahara at all, but she knew she didn't like his tone. If she had learnt something of him during the time she had spent learning more about spirit world and magic from Urahara, it was the fact he was extremely good at getting into the point of every situation, even when he played dump. She didn't either like the fact Urahara had stated that she had gotten herself in trouble with the Death God.

"I have heard lots of you, Death God-san, from Inoue-chan here. I think I have heard pretty much everything that has happened between you two, so I know Inoue-chan sincerely loves you", Urahara started. He decided to leave out the details of many tear filled nights Inoue had spent crying in Yoruichi's lap, weeping how much she missed the red haired man and how horribly worried she was. If Inoue wanted, she could talk about it herself to him.

"The question here reminds what is your opinion about this and Orihime-chan, Death God-san?"

Renji rubbed his neck, flushed "I..I do have strong feelings for her...", he managed to totter. Inoue hit her reddered cheeks behind her orange bangs but couldn't hide the tiny, embarrassed smile from Urahara. Neither of the young ones look at each others, seemingly embarrassed to talk about their feelings openly.

Urahara grinned.

"That's set then so moving to the next thing: Inoue-chan, you remember how we talked about the different social ranks of Death Gods? Your beloved Death God here is a liuetenant level Death God and the little bird told me he's serving one of the noble leaders of Seireitei, Kuchiki family's head. I'd say 'nice catch, Inoue', but I'm afraid it's not how the things truly are. Is it, Death God-san?" He kept a small pause, thinking. "Abarai-san, wasn't it?"

"Ah, yes. Abarai. And you're right about it all", Renji murmured squeezing his fists tighter in his lap. Urahara tapped the table between them with his fan, leaning backwards on his outstreched arm.

"Seireitei has strict rules and guidelines when it comes to interaction with human world. I'm sure we both gentlemen here are aware of them regarding your situation, but our lady companion doesn't know anything of that subject. Should I tell her I will you tell her?"

A cold sweat seeped on Inoue's skin as she waited for either Renji or Urahara to speak. Finally Renji turned his head to Inoue, but kept his eyes cast down on the floor.

"If Seireitei finds out I'm in love with a human, they will take away my liuetenant's badge".

"You mean... you lose your job?" Inoue asked with a gasp. Urahara scratced his chin with his folded fan.

"Not only that, Inoue-chan, but most likely also his status as a Death God, especially when we're talking about such a high ranked officer working directly under the command of extremely important noble family in Seireitei. Am I right, Abarai-san?"

"Yes, I'm expected to be as an example for the other Death Gods and also keep the Kuchiki family's name unstained", Renji nodded with a frown. "I'm their lap dog. Whole Seireitei's pooch".

"Is it really that wrong? I don't understand why it's so wrong or serious", Inoue almost plead looking first at Abarai, then Urahara. "I though Death Gods were there for us humans."

"Seireitei is ruled by old folk, who love old traditions. Besides it wouldn't do any good for Seireitei or human world if the line between these two worlds became too loose so to say. Some things are meant to co-exist but not meet", Urahara expained the best way he was able to. He couldn't miss the pained look in Inoue's eyes or the heavy aura around Renji.

"What... what should we do? You said you could help us, Urahara-sensei" Inoue's voice was weak as she leaned over the table closer to Urahara. He looked at the young couple with a thoughtful frown.

"I can help by training more Inoue-chan, so that when she finally arrives to the spirit world she can access near Seireitei and apply to the Death God Academy. If she becomes Death God, then she has better social status and the relationship with a liuetenant – or with a captain if you have been promoted by that time – is approved better."

"Wait, I don't understand what you're saying", Inoue looked buzzled, eye brows cocking. "Am I becoming a Death God? What is the academy or this speak about me going to spirit world?"

Renji next to Inoue squeezed his palms even tighter, knuckled turning white. His face was pale.

"I don't like that idea, but it's the only one we have..."

Inoue took a look at Renji, still buzzled.

"I don't follow any of you..."

"Abarai-san is right. That is the only way you can continue your relationship without Seireitei sticking their nose into it and breaking two hearts apart, but it's not an easy road. Though considering the other options, which are overthrowing Seireitei's goverment and laws, taking away Abarai's status and current life setting still without possibility to a real relationship or breaking up for good, the option of Inoue becoming a Death God after arriving to the spirit world is the best option if you ask me. And I'm willing to help you to with that, as Seireitei isn't interested in what I do with humans here", Urahara explained.

"I could move here", Renji replied hastily. Urahara simply shook his head.

"I'm an exile with my wife from Seireitei. Trust me. You don't want this life. None of you will. Besides it would be unfair for Orihime to have the burden of that decision on her shoulders", he sighed. Renji understood him and didn't argue back.

"How do you suggest Orihime would move to Seireitei?", he asked after a small pause.

"The natural way".

A pained look washed over Renji's stern face. Inoue crept closer to him.

"You two are so enigmatic! Please, tell me, what do you mean? I hate it when people talk about me but I don't understand what's going on", she asked, lips pressing together into a thin line.

Renji turned his head to Inoue. His eyes looked mournful and exhaled heavily.

"There's an academy which educates Death Gods. Basically anyone in the spirit world can apply the school. Every Death God graduates from there, with a few expectations. But you need to be in the spirit wolrd to access is, naturally".

"So.. so I should move to spirit world and apply the school?" Inoue's lips quivered. She thought about Tatsuki, her family, Ichigo and all her friends. How could she say she was moving away? To some place no one could ever reach her again? That she was running away with her delusional man, the one no one else saw or even believed in, even if she tried to explain it.

She somehow just knew that if she went to the spirit world, she wouldn't return. Ever.

"Inoue-chan, don't look so gloomy", Urahara comforted her. "There's plenty of time to spend with your loved ones here in Karakura. You're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Renji stood up suddenly and walked away from the living room with hard steps. Inoue was left there mouth open. She called his name before his back disappeared behind the sliding door but never got any answer.

"Abarai-san?!"

"Oh dear, I knew this was going to be hard for him. Inoue-chan, please go after him. If you need to talk or want to spend time together in private, you can use the Lolly suite upstairs". With that also Urahara rose up and made his way out of the room. His fan was left on the table.

Inoue had hard time following this all. It made no sense. Feeling a tight knot in her chest Inoue pushed herself up to her feet. For a second she stood there, thinking would it be better to leave Renji to be alone for a while. He had disappeared to suddenly, without any warnings. He didn't even excuse himself when he left Urahara and Inoue behind. Why he had arrived if he didn't want to be around her?

With a small hesitation she decided to head after Renji, hoping he wouldn't have gotten too far yet. It wasn't hard to find him, as the tall man was standing in one of the bar's cornr, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. He looked so serious and so pale, even in the bar's dim light.

"Abarai-san..?"

He snapped out of his melancholic trance. Renji allowed Inoue walk just before him.

"I'm sorry, I needed some time alone", he muttered an apology.

"It's okay. Do you need more time alone?", she questioned him gently.

Mentally Renji slapped himself across the face with an open palm. No. He had already spent enough time alone in Seireitei. God he hadn't even allowed himself to realize just how much he had missed this human girl, because it would make things very complicated. But like Urahara had stated it out, no matter how Renji tried to mull their situation over and over again, it never changed to anything.

"Inoue-san, I want to tell you one thing; I'm sorry. I'm so horribly sorry. I have brought nothing but bad news to you. I didn't even come to see you until now", Renji spoke with a heavy tone and let his hands drop on his sides.

Fiercely Inoue shook her head.

"Nonsense, Abarai-san! You appearing into my life was one of the best things ever! I finally understoof what was wrong with me; nothing. Absolutely nothing. I was gifted and now, with the help of Urahara-sensei I have been able to learn more about my gifts and the spiritual world where you come from." She inhaled and smiled widely from ear to ear. "Thank you, Abarai-san. You are the best thing ever happened to me".

Though Renji didn't admit to be a sentimental guy, he had to fight really hard in order not to burts in tears. Even after making her wait for two years because he had been nothing but a coward, this woman here, this a way too young woman for his age, was sincerely giving her love to him – and he yearned to do the same. Thus it pained him to speak his mind out loud.

"What did you understood from the chat we had with your sensei?", Renji began.

Inoue swayed back and forth on his feet thoughtfully, hands behind her slim back. "Nothing much..."

"Alright, then I'm going to be very straight with you. If we want to be a real couple without anyone to interviene you need to come to our spirit world – permanently. That can only happen if you die".

The word 'die' hit Inoue's heart like an icy punch. Her hands rose slowly up to her chest.

"Is that.. is that really the only way?", her voice trembled.

Renji looked at Inoue from under his frowned brows, keenly.

"Yes. I can't take you to spirit world in your human body. I can't come to this world permanently either. It's either you die or we break up". Renji hated the word 'break up'. It was weird, as he barely even knew the girl. "I love you a lot, more than I have ever allowed myself to admit to anyone, even to myself. I can't afford to lose you, but there's no other way us to be together than you becoming a spirit woman".

"Then you should kill me, as I love you, too!" Inoue commanded him and pat her chest. "Right here, right now! You are a Death God, aren't you?"

He chuckled weakly and slowly took Inoue's hands into his owns. Her tiny palms were easily covered with Renji's calloused palms.

"I can't do that. And no, you can't do that either. If the soul is killed before its time, the life lessons the soul has are left unfinished. It means two things; one is that the soul will spend only a little time in the spirit world and return then soon back to Earth to completele the lessons. Did you think you all were here for no specific reason?" he smiled at Inoue, brushing her fingers gently. "Second thing is that if the soul is killed suddenly, it can feel negative emotions, like yearning the things and people it used to love while being a human with a body. These negative emotions then attract Hollows and in the worst cases the soul itself turns into a Hollow. Wouldn't you miss your loved ones here if I did took my sword and slain your body here?"

Inoue understood every single word the man explained to her. She nodded to him, looking at their connected hands. She would miss everyone.

"When your time comes, I come to take you to the land of death – to my world".

Quietly a moist feeling was forming on the corners of Inoue's grey eyes.

"But you can come to visit me, right?" she whimpered.

Renji exhaled deeply, squeezing her tiny palms tighter into his hold.

"I wish I could, but it's not possible. Even now I'm here without permission. Death Gods of my level can't come and go as freely as lower Death Gods, there are many regulations and they are all there for the sake of the humans. We do protect them, it's our job.", he spoke sadly.

Inoue couldn't look Renji in the eyes. She wanted to, but couldn't. It would have been too painful.

"The only option we have now in order to make this all happen well without anyone of us needing to get in a difficult situation is that we wait till your natural time comes, train you to become a Death God and you come to Seireitei. Sure, things will work out even without the Death God status, but it's a plus. It's worth of trying, especially when you have a sensei who's originally from Seireitei and knows lots of things about Death Gods", Renji spoke as gently as he was ever able to. He didn't want to break Inoue's heart anymore – or perhaps he was trying to prevent his own heart from chattering.

"Is... is this a goodbye? Till we meet again?", Inoue sobbed keeping her face hidden from Renji behind her bangs.

"Yes."

With that small answer Inoue threw herself on Renji's arms, entwining her arms around his waist and broke into tears. She wept against his Death God robes, his warm chest peeking between the fabric's layers touching Inoue's moist cheek.

"Then stay with me a little longer. I have waited for you two years, repeating our every encounter in my mind over and over again. Let me hold you a little longer", she hicupped into his chest, strong arms pressing her trembling frame into a tighter embrace. "Even if it's just for a second, I want to hold you".

No one had ever spoken anything so gentle to Renji. No one had ever said to him they wanted to be embraced by him. It touched his soul.

He buried his face into Inoue's hair, squeezing her tighter, eyes feeling like burning.

"Yes, anything you want".


End file.
